Severus Snape and The Prophecy
by Stolenmoments93
Summary: Hermione was only meant to sneak into Hogwarts to grab what she needed and go back out on the run with Harry Potter. She hadn't meant to linger so long, let alone be so reckless with her Time Turner that she had put a certain spy in the path of great danger. With little options, Hermione uses Obliviate to Headmaster Snape's memories of her to keep him safe, but will it be enough?
1. Obliviate

**Chapter 1 "Obliviate"**

She saw him before he saw her. His back was to the window of the Astronomy Tower, wand in hand, thoughtful. As she quietly entered the room Hermione noted the strong stance that he always had and would miss the way he to would turn around and smile at her, something that only in the last careless months she had become accustomed to.

With his vital role in this war that had consumed all of their lives it was indeed a miracle that Snape would find himself smiling at anyone, let alone the bushy haired know-it-all he used to snark at before he took the position of the traitorous Headmaster.

However, things had changed and he knew he was better for it.

His smile was lovely. Even with the stress of being the spy, she had seen a glimmer in his eyes when he spent some precious moments alone with her. It was "a gift" he would tease her, for her alone. Nobody else got to know that Severus Snape could be happy.

Hermione was well aware that there would be no smile this time as he turned to face her.

"Expelliarmus!" she said quickly disarming him, before she could talk herself out of doing what must be done.

He spun around in surprise, back against the open window, wand flying out of his hand and landing swiftly across the room.

His eyes only held a question in them for a fraction of a second before they transitioned into a look of sheer desperation.

"You know what must be done Severus." Hermione said, her eyes welling with tears. She tried her best to keep her voice steady, but there was a thickness to it that gave her pain away.

"Hermione," he said softly in deep voice, as if trying to calm a wild animal, "don't. do. this." He took a deep breath and stared deeply into her eyes as if trying to communicate something deeper through them. She heard the message, but she couldn't let it break her resolve.

"You'll die Severus! You know there is no other way!" She didn't feel as if she were in the same room. Her mind was trying to enclose in on itself, to back away from the pain and go with the easier route. She wanted to be enveloped in his arms, but she couldn't. In the time it would it take him to put his arms around her he would already have his wand back and it would be too late.

"Hermione please listen to me, I would rather die then forget one moment of our time together." He attempted to take a step closer to her, but thought better of it when she refused to lower her wand. He shook his head angrily.

"I'll remember for both of us." She said quietly, tears streaming freely down her face. "I love you." She said, taking a deep breath before steadying her voice. She was out of time. "I'm sorry."

"Hermione don't!"

"Obliviate!" she said softly only lowering her wand after the memories of them being together were removed from his mind. He was knocked onto the floor, unconscious. She dropped to her knees beside him and put her hand to his face one last time. She let out a desperate sob. Her chest felt hollow and cold. It was like any flicker of warmth that had been blew out. She knew she needed to protect him, but the grief still overwhelmed her.

It wasn't just that he wouldn't remember. She had essentially erased every part of them from reality. He was the only one who knew she had been in the castle and not on the run with Harry Potter. Her use of her Time Turner from third year had given her the upper hand in their search for Horcruxes. She hadn't meant to linger at a stop at Hogwarts. And now it was gone. Everything they had done, everything they had to go through to finally be together was all forgotten. She had lost him, but she knew he would live. That was the most important thing.

Even if it killed her. Her Severus would live.


	2. The Fate of The Time Turner

***Thank you to my reviewers for pointing out a couple errors in the last chapter so I was able to correct them. (Please keep the corrections coming. I am an English Major so I do find editing to be fairly imperative.)**

 **I was not really expecting any response to this story, so I am flattered to have any reviews so quickly. I hope you guys enjoy this next chapter. I am already working on an outline for this story, so i'll try to post each chapter fairly quickly.***

 **Chapter 2 "The Fate of The Time Turner"**

Severus awoke later the next day with an intolerable headache. He sat up, squinting his eyes as his skull pounded. Being a potions master had its advantages even if he no longer held the title of professor. He grabbed a healing potion and downed it, sighing in small relief as the pulsing subsided.

Getting up was not an affair he ever felt jovial about. Being hated by everyone was not exactly something to he felt the need to inwardly boast, but it was a war and it was necessary. He doubted if anyone would really understand what he had been asked to do for Dumbledore let alone what he faced every day in order to protect Hogwarts.

Greasy Git, Traitor, Death Eater…only few of the names people said about him daily. And those weren't even the worst of it.

He shook his head, chastising himself. Now wasn't the time to get emotional on such trivial circumstances. He puled his trousers up, buttoned his black shirt and prepared himself for another day. The end was nearing…he already knew the Dark Lord would retaliate soon enough and Severus had to make sure Potter was ready.

He looked around his room and felt something out of place. He shook his head, threw his robe on and turned on his heel, throwing the door open to start another day.

Much had changed at Hogwarts since the death of Dumbledore. No longer were the halls filled with bright colors and gossiping witches and wizards. It had taken on a greyish tint with soldiers for students. Everyone was waiting in the great hall for him. He didn't make eye contact with any of them as he brusquely made his way to the front. He stared down his nose at them. He noticed briefly that Minerva was standing in the front line staring distrustfully at him. Rightfully so. Most of the students were staring glumly at the floor. Only few were brave enough to meet his gaze.

"Quiditch will be canceled for the time being," he said sternly. The outcry began immediately. The Carrows stepped forward at noticeable students meaning to punish those who stepped out of line. "Enough" Severus said roughly. The students stopped groveling and the carrows stepped back into the shadows. "Quiditch will be canceled. That is all. You may go to class now."

The lines dispersed single file out through the doors. None of the professors met his gaze as they left. Severus turned to the carrows when they were gone.

"You will not punish a student unless I demand it, is that understood?" He said, showing controlled rage through his eyes.

"The Dark Lord said—" one of them began

"That you answer to me at school. So, do I need to repeat the question or would you like me to tell The Dark Lord that you are not longer useful to me here."

He swallowed and bowed his head in submission.

"No sir."

"Good, then, get, out." He drawled, glaring at them.

They scattered quickly, fearfully. Severus rolled his eyes. When he was sure he was alone he left the room slowly and went to find a minute of peace to himself. There was only one place he felt like he wasn't being watched. His office held a certain sanctuary for him where he could speak freely to Dumbledore's portrait as if he were still here.

As he billowed through the halls he nearly rammed into a distracted Miss Granger. Her hair was no longer bushy, but notably wavy and rather…soft looking. He was instantly overwhelmed with the smell of lavender and thought this was peculiar since she was standing a good three feet away from him. How on earth could she manage that? He shook his head; aghast with his own thought process and thought it would be better to look down his nose at her to invoke fear. After all, she certainly shouldn't have been roaming the halls. It was a privilege that she was here anyways…The Dark Lord had made it perfectly clear that all muggle borns were to be put in Azkaban. It was only on heavy influence on his part that he was able to convince The Dark Lord that it would be more prevalent for her to remain under his constraint to inevitably lure Potter to the school.

Damn Potter and his friends. He was always risking his life for those dunderheads.

Despite the way he was looking at her she didn't look afraid. He frowned at her. Her eyes were bloodshot and despite the calmness in her stance he knew there was something wrong with her.

"Why are you not with McGonagall Miss Granger"

She bowed her head, seldom looking into his eyes, which made him instantly suspicious.

"I'm on my way now Headmaster. Apologies…" She said, looking at him once and the staring back at the floor.

"Well hurry it up then!" he snapped.

She straightened her shoulders and walked past him. He didn't know why, but he had a strong inclination to follow after her.

...

Hermione had spent the entire night and most of the morning crying. She couldn't even imagine the humiliation she would've felt if Severus hadn't lost his memories and found her like that. Her hair had gotten rather frizzy and her eyes were almost swollen shut. She didn't even know what color her nose had turned, but she was sure it wasn't attractive.

She knew that the school was to meet in the Great Hall for the morning announcements and as McGonagall's apprentice she was expected to be there. However she couldn't bare the sight of him. Cold and stoic…completely alone. And even worse, without the slightest idea of how much he was loved.

She counted down the minutes before she thought it would be safe to go down the hall to where she would be free to distract herself in the library before McGonagall's next class.

She swore she felt him before she saw him.

His billowing black robes almost enveloped his body. He looked far sterner than she had seen him in a long time. This caused her chest to constrict and she found that she couldn't look at him.

The ignorance in his voice was making her stomach knot in guilt.

She had been very careful to manipulate his memories into thinking she was here, forced as a ploy. It was a plan Severus had concocted himself before when they…well; when they were…she shook her head, unable to even allow her mind think of the word. Anyways, It was his idea that if her cover was blown they would use the Time Turner one last time to manipulate the past to convince the school that Hermione had already been there and even more imperative to convince the Dark Lord that it had been his idea. After being held at Malfoy manor and tortured and permanently branded by Bellatrix Lestrange, Severus was able to convince the Dark Lord that Hermione had been tortured for information by himself, but had no where abouts of Mr. Potter, however, it was thought that if she stayed here, Potter would inevitably come back for her.

The plan had been pretty bullet proof and in the end it was what Hermione manipulated quickly with no help of Severus of course.

As soon as he began to sniff out her plan to save him, he stubbornly crushed the Time Turner under his boot, leaving her stuck and waiting to corner a previous version of herself to rewrite time.

It had not been easy to convince the younger Hermione what to do and by being bound to Severus she was still forced to erase his memories even after the plan had been put in place and the school recognized her as an assistant, or what people were calling the "Headmasters prisoner".

She thought of how much easier it would be if he hadn't destroyed the Time Turner. She still cursed the stubborn man, who clearly had some kind of death wish, for breaking her most useful tool in the war. She knew based on the date that she was still on the run somewhere with Harry as well as at school. She only had three days before she would disappear and find herself stuck at Hogwarts with no way to jump back in time or change her location without being discovered.

She still remembered the flash of anger in his eyes as he ripped the object from her hands and smashed it under his black dragon Hyde boot without another thought to the consequences. It had caused a huge row between them that ended with Severus storming out of their chambers and Hermione in bed with frustrated tears.

"Severus you heard the prophecy, you'll die!" she remembered screaming at him, trying to get this foolish man to care about his life enough to protect it.

"Hermione, I am at peace with this stupid prediction of the future. I. don't. Care."

Severus and his stupid foolish bleeding heart.

"What about me? What happens to me when you die?" she spat at him.

He glowered at her.

"You'll survive." He growled before storming away.

She never should have let this go this far. She had distracted him and it would've cost him his life if she had continued to be with him. The new plan to erase his memories and wait to inform Harry of her need to stay at Hogwarts in three days time and search for the Horcrux here was barely stable and only concocted on careful quick calculations and desperation to save the man she loved.

She really had no other options at this point. She could only pray that she had not been referred to as the brightest witch of her time for false reasons and trust that Severus would be able to continue to steer Harry without her help.

She had enough information to know that the war was nearing a close. She had to play her new part, protect Severus, but also keep him from discovering the truth. She continued on to her destination and tried to hold herself together. She was no use to the man if she couldn't bloody well stop crying over him. She already knew what she was getting herself into, there was no reason for him to remember anything if it cost him something as precious as his life. The prophecy had been quite clear in her part of his end and as long as he didn't love her there would be no reason for him to put himself even further at risk, jeopardizing what he had worked for with Albus Dumbledore for almost twenty years.

Severus might have been stubborn, but he wasn't the only one and there was no reason Hermione couldn't bloody well take care of herself.


	3. Dumbledore's Spy

**Chapter 3 "Dumbledore's Spy"**

When Severus made it up to his office his thoughts began racing. Why had Miss Granger been crying? He was immediately suspicious that she was in contact with Potter and something had gone arise. He had to fight the impulse to check on him. If Potter was in danger he knew he would be summoned immediately by the Dark Lord to hear him boasting his conquest, or if he gotten away he would be beating his followers in his frustration.

He knew he could send a Patronus, but it was too soon. If his cover was blown too early he may be killed by Lord Voldemort before he could finish guiding Potter on his path.

"Albus," he drawled, calling to the portrait for guidance. He sat at his desk so he would stop pacing around the room like a madman.

Albus looked down at him and lifted his eyebrows.

"Severus?"

"I fear something is amiss. I was walking back here and I ran into Miss Granger. She appeared to be rather upset."

"Well, it is a war. Perhaps she is just feeling lonely." He said thoughtfully, brushing it aside.

Severus considered this for a moment and didn't say anything further. His instincts were rather sharp on matters such as these. He had a feeling she wasn't the sort to roam around the halls, unprotected and weeping. That was very careless. She might as well have a target on her back. How the bloody hell was he supposed to protect her from the Carrows if she continued to be a rule-breaking know-it-all?

...

Hermione never made it to McGonagall's class that day. She knew it was pretty careless of herself, but she could feel the emotions boiling inside of her and the only thing that could help the wallowness was a good book.

Unless she started imaging the way Severus would sometimes read aloud to her in bed, two pillows behind his back for support, her laying on his chest and his voice a smooth velvet ribbon. She groaned inwardly.

She finally made it undetected to the library doors and chastised herself for letting this affect her so much. She did what she had to. Severus may not have agreed with her choice, but he would live. She tried to remind herself again that this was all that mattered.

She managed to keep that thought going in herself as she roamed through the stacks of books, they whispered stories to her that enticed her mind and offered a pleasant and useful distraction. She took a few and sat down at a desk.

She imagined, not for the first time that day, how Severus was holding up. She remembered what he had been like before she found out about him and how much he had needed someone like her. Of course Severus would have disagreed, but neither he nor her could have predicted how much she had helped him in there time together. Nor could he ever possibly know how much he had done for her.

She had still been on the run with Harry at the time. Life had gotten dark. Ron had left them and they had no way to reach him. They had no way of knowing if he was okay or how any of there loved ones were doing. It was a miserable way of life, but it didn't matter. They had to keep moving. Dumbledore's instructions to Harry were quite clear and Hermione would do everything in her power to help him. Even if it meant wearing around that infernal locket that twisted her soul and put herself in harms way to search for the other horcruxes. As long as Voldemort was destroyed in the end that was all that mattered.

One evening Harry had taken his shift outside the tent with the locket so Hermione could do some research on anything that might tell them of where to find the sword of Godric Gryffindor.

With the realization that a horcrux could only be destroyed by powerful magic they had set out to find the sword that Harry had pulled from the sorting hat second year. The last he saw it was in Dumbledore's office and he wasn't sure what Dumbledore had done with it since then. If only Dumbledore was still around and she could possibly ask him.

Then she had an epiphany. Well why the bloody hell couldn't she ask him?

"Harry!" she called, before lifting the opening of the tent that was separating her from outside. "I've had an idea. It's kind of a stretch, but it might just work."

"I'm listening." He said, his eyes open and trusting. Harry was the closest thing she had to family now.

"Why don't we ask Dumbledore?" she said carefully. His eyebrows knitted together quizzically.

"Hermione, Dumbledore is dead." He stated plainly, as if she wasn't aware of that.

She sighed and sat down next to him. Harry and Ron weren't exactly quick when it came to intellect. Sometimes she had to spell it out for them.

"Yes, but his portrait that hung in his office should know a thing or two and I'm sure he'd be willing to help us."

"Hermione, his portrait is in Hogwarts. We can't risk getting caught before we have the sword. We would never get away and I'm sure they would find me easily." He stated.

"Yes, I've thought of that too. Which is why, I think I should go…alone." She said. "I know it's a stretch, but we've lost Ron. We only know of one way to destroy a horcrux and we're running out of time. I'll have the marauders map and the time turner and the invisibility cloak with me so it might just work."

"And what if Headmaster Snape finds you?" he spat out his name venomously, "you're not just my friend Hermione, you're muggle born. I don't want to think what he would do to you."

"It's a shot I'm willing to take. I don't think we exactly have the option to be picky right now." She thought of Snape, how she had felt when she heard he had been working for Voldemort all along. It just seemed so wrong. She knew the boys never liked him, but Dumbledore had trusted him and surely he wasn't an easy man to fool. She wasn't about to tell Harry how scared she really was about going into his office. If anything did happen, it was better her than him and this she knew. This everyone on their side knew. Whatever happened it was of most importance that Harry survived to the final battle.

She had then created a tracking charm for Harry that would only glow when she was near if and when she returned. She planned to use the time turner to get past the detective charms at Hogwarts. And if she did her calculations she should return back to the camp where Harry was in only a few moments. She couldn't go back too far because there was no way of knowing what she could mess up. It had occurred to her before that she should go back and try to save Dumbledore's, but she knew what happened to Wizards who got lost in time that way. She needed to go when the office would be empty and she hoped that Severus would have been too plagued that he wouldn't wish to spend time in the room under Dumbledore's skeptical painted eye.

It didn't take too much convincing for Harry to agree to her plan. He knew that they didn't have a lot of options and he trusted Hermione. After all, they were beginning to feel desperate.

She cast a disillusionment charm over her, put the cloak over her head and began counting back the Time Turner. She would go back eight months, right after the minister was killed. Before Voldemort took over the ministry. That would be the only time Hogwarts would be in its transition with Snape and when she had a chance to get into Dumbledore's office.

When she arrived in the past she didn't waste any time feeling emotional about the grey silence that filled the halls of Hogwarts. She didn't have any time. She walked carefully to the office, spoke Dumbledore's old password and went up.

Dumbledore's office seemed untouched. She knew that Snape had already been placed as Headmaster, but the office didn't show it. She looked up at Dumbledore's portrait.

"Headmaster, I'm here to ask you a few questions" Hermione began softly from under the cloak, glancing sideways at the door.

"Hermione Granger? Interesting seeing you here. I reckon you aren't here for small pleasantries." He spoke carefully.

"No, I've used the Time Turner to get here and I'm afraid there isn't much time. The war is coming to critical point, and Harry and I have yet to find all of the things we need. I was hoping that you might be able to help us."

"In what way?" he asked.

"Do you know where Godric Gryffindor's sword is?" she asked quickly. There wasn't exactly time to waste on the matter. Snape could walk in at any moment.

"I do," he said simply.

Hermione's heart pace quickened. "Where is it?"

He tapped his nose and then became quiet. Hermione was just about to voice a complaint, but she could her the stairs turning up into the room and she retrieved to a corner to hide under the invisibility cloak instead.

Hermione noted that Professor Snape, or Headmaster Snape as he was called now, had appeared to have changed. He still billowed into the room and held a stern look, but he looked tired. His eyes were older. She watched as he threw the office door shut behind him, warded it and then fell back into the chair behind the room's desk.

One of his hands wiped over his face as he exhaled deeply. And then she watched as he threw everything off of of the desk in one momentous arm wave of frustration. It came down with a thunderous crash and Snape made no other movements.

Dumbledore's portrait focused on him.

"Something bothering you, Severus?" Dumbledore asked him.

"Lord Voldermort has assigned two carrows to assist me with the handling of the school. They were worse than Umbridge, punishing students with the Cruciatus for being out of order." He said, his voice shaking. "I had to stand there and watch, acting like it was my fucking idea. They were only first years, Albus."

Hermione was surprised with his words. She was horrified by the punishing of students, remembering what Umbridge had done to Harry. The other part of her mind sharpened in on what she had just heard from Snape. She hadn't expected him to be so remorseful or so chatty with Dumbledore. What the hell was going on?

"I'm quite certain you will find a way to protect the students, Severus as best as you can, as you always do. There will be casualties in this war I fear, but you must stick to the plan."

Snape snapped his head angrily up at the portrait.

"Always with the bloody plan. I know you've never thought that you have asked too much of me. My internal debt to you has no bounds." He snapped at Dumbledore before turning his head away.

"Nonsense, we all must make the sacrifices and do what must be done."

Although Severus Snape agreed with this, he seemed to be on a bit of a roll and couldn't help griping out his frustrations.

"And what if I survive this war, what then? Life in Azkaban or am I supposed to remain the most hated man for killing the wizarding world's most beloved Headmaster, all the while unknowing that the man not only had a death command, but was dying anyways. I wish you had never asked me to do it, Albus. I could be shacked up right now, minding my own business and being left the hell alone."

"Now, Severus you don't mean that." Dumbledore said carefully, almost scripted. "In all these years I've known you, you never would've deserted Potter or his friends and you've done all you can to help them and this war. Not all of it was asked of you."

"I don't need silly reminders of what is clearly my fatal flaw."

"Don't ignore me, Severus. I think all you need is someone to lean on now. Someone to help you."

Hermione's eyes had grown to the size wide orbs. Was she imagining this exchange? Had the locket somehow snapped her mind? Headmaster Snape seemed too wrapped up to notice that he was not technically alone in the room, but she tried to recall what Dumbledore had just said. Someone to help him? Was he mad? Who would be able to handle a secret like that?

Snape lifted an eyebrow quizzically.

"Are you suggesting I tell someone that I'm a spy? Are you mad?" He said, echoing Hermione's thoughts. Headmaster Snape however, furthered his question with an insult. "You really are just a copy of the real thing."

Dumbledore was unfazed to his snarky remark and was clearly used to Snape behaving this way.

"I don't know, Severus, you might be surprised to learn that some corners have hidden ears that listen." In that moment Dumbledore stopped glancing at Severus and looked pointedly at the corner where Hermione stood, hidden under the invisibility cloak.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Hermione cursed silently. He totally just gave her away to the viper.

Headmaster Snape stood immediately and glared at the portrait before drawing his wand and walking carefully to the corner. When he was close enough, he stared at the space and before Hermione could even take a step back, he had whisked the cloak off of her, revealing her intrusion.

She was still so stunned by the conversation she had just overheard that she didn't know what to say. Headmaster Snape was more than a little surprised that it wasn't a young Mr. Potter under the cloak and instead the insufferable know-it-all who followed Mr. Potter around.

"Miss Granger, what, on, earth, do, you, think, you, are, doing, here?" He asked slowly with a venomous bite behind each syllable. She swallowed noticing how infuriated he was. He might be on her side, but that may not stop him from hexing her or worse if he thought it would unfold his secret.

"I…" she began and then stopped.

"No usual cheek I see. I could turn you in to the Dark Lord immediately. Do you have a death wish?" he snarled at her.

"Oh stop it, Severus." Dumbledore spoke up, causing Hermione to jump. "She just heard the whole conversation we had. She isn't daft enough to think you'll do anything to her now."

She did overhear it, but she thought Dumbledore's portrait clearly couldn't see the way Headmaster Snape was looking at her or he might have retracted his statement. Headmaster Snape was more than pissed. He was livid.

He spun sharply to the painting, breathing through his nose heavily.

"You knew she was in here." He spat through his teeth. "Are you mad, old man?"

Dumbledore winked at her and then turned away from the seething Snape, indicating that their conversation was clearly over.

There was a long awkward silence after Dumbledore disappeared. Hermione stood, trying to rediscover her known Gryffindor courage and Headmaster Snape was staring at the painting, seething.

"Professor Snape?" she squeaked and then cleared her throat. "I mean, Headmaster Snape."

His eyes seemed to burn through her head when he turned back to her. His mouth was slightly ajar, clearly not sure of how he should go about the situation. Then he lifted his wand up to her again. She sensed he was about to obliviate her mind and dump her somewhere.

"Wait," she said, quick on her feet. "Oblivating me wouldn't be in your best interest."

"I disagree." He chided back sternly.

"Look, I came here with the Time Turner, I might be of service to you now, as you would be to me."

"You are too quick with your tongue, Miss Granger. You have no reason to trust any of what you just heard." He stated.

"But I do, trust you, I mean. None of it made sense before. It finally does. You were helping us all along. And I don't believe Dumbledore, even a portrait of him, would allow me to hear about this if he thought I might not be useful to you in some way."

"I can't have you blabbing to the orange one or Potter," he said, still glaring, but his wand hand relaxed slightly. "No one can know."

Hermione ignored his coined name for her two best friends and continued, "I'm not sure I understand, why are you doing all of this? Why did you kill Dumbledore? Why-?"

"Stop!" Headmaster Snape said, agitated. He sat down at the desk again, for a moment leaving Hermione alone. He was preparing something. She waited a moment before going over to the desk and looking over the man's shoulder. She had never dared to stand this close to him before. She noted that he had really rich soft looking hair and a scar on his ear that seemed to disappear into the dress collar around his neck. He smelled of earthly herbs and ash? She questioned herself and then looked to what his hands were doing.

"A binding potion?" she asked, recognizing only some of the words he was scribbling onto paper.

"I can't exactly believe you wont go swanning off as soon as you leave here and tell your friends what you heard."

She couldn't exactly argue. There was no way she would be able to keep such a secret from Harry. She wanted to clear Professor Snape's name. Let them know they could count on him to help. He probably knew where the sword was! Maybe he had information that could help kill Voldemort!

"He took out a knife and cut his hand, dripping his blood on to the note he just wrote, then he grabbed her hand forcefully. He was a bit rough in movement, but he was soft and gentle at the same time. Hermione flinched when he did the same to her hand and watched as both pools of blood began to jumble as one. He whispered something under his breath and his wand sent out tiny flickers before the blood disappeared.

"What kind of binding spell was that? Why wouldn't you just use an oath?" she asked.

"A death oath would be too dangerous and there is no one else here to perform the spell," he said, for once answering her question without his usual snarl. "This is an old ritual that will keep your lips sealed about what you have learned today. That is all you need to know. For now."

"I'm not really sure what I know." She admitted. "I just know that you aren't a deatheater."

"Wrong," he said sighing. "I have done unimaginable things for the sake of this war. Don't think for a moment that I wouldn't sacrifice you if I had to."

"You're not the only one who has been affected by war. Who has made sacrifices, Professor" she replied back stubbornly. She felt childish for snapping back at him in this way, but his reluctance to give her any further explanation was starting to irritate her.

"Headmaster" he corrected her evenly. She sighed, evenly knowing it was quite clear they weren't exactly going to be friends, but she certainly got the help she was looking for by coming here.

"Headmaster," she began, thinking it would be better to just agree with whatever he said so she could get back to Harry. "Do you know where the sword is?"

"I have an idea." He said, not even looking up from what he was now working on at the desk.

"We need it. We found the locket, the real one, but we have no way of destroying it. We've tried everything." She said. Headmaster Snape said nothing and again, made no move to look up. Hermione sighed. He probably didn't trust her even after casting that blood spell. She hadn't read too much on blood spells, but she knew they were powerful and not to be messed with.

"I think you ought to go back to Harry Potter, Miss Granger. It sounds like he needs all of the help he can get."

Was that him saying that he wouldn't help her? She fought back her stubbornness, but agreed that she should go back. Dumbledore had made it clear that Headmaster Snape would help them. She had to have faith in that judgment.

She once again, put the cloak over herself and began to work the time turner eight months forward, hoping that she hadn't messed up time too much.


	4. Manipulating Time

**Chapter 4 "Manipulating Time"**

"Damn it all! Albus left me with nothing to prepare for this." She found Harry mumbling like this outside their tent when she returned that first time after finding out Severus was a spy.

Hermione had walked over to him carefully, unsure of how long she had been gone.

"Harry, are you alright?" she asked, carefully.

"Am I alright? Hermione, you aren't serious. Hogwarts a bust, Godric Hollow another bust. This is all Dumbledore's fault. I feel like I didn't even know him."

Hermione's mind raced, what was it that he had said about Godric's hollow? Why would he go there, that was an obvious trap. Voldemort would be counting on Harry to show up there, surely. She remembered having the argument with him about it when they first went on the run.

"Why would you go to Godric's hollow Harry?" she asked.

"You mean, why did we go there?" he said skeptically. "Hermione, I don't really know what you mean."

She had jumped too far into the future. Some version of herself had gone to Godric hollow, but not yet. She had just come back from eight months, but the shock of what she learned about Severus must've made he turn an extra time.

"I'm sorry Harry, it's the Time-turner, I used it and I'm afraid I wasn't the one with you at Godric's hollow or at least not yet." She explained.

He lifted an eyebrow, frowning at her. "What happened at the burrow in the kitchen that nobody knows about except—."

Oh goodness he didn't believe her.

"You kissed Ginny." She replied confidently "And George saw the whole thing."

"Alright." He sighed, blushing and then decided to refocus his energy on his anger. He kicked something on the ground, kicking up dirt with it as it went flying out of their protective circle. He then turned back and picked up his wand and showed her what he was so upset about. It was the same wand, carved the feather a phoenix. Only it was broken.

"Oh, Harry." Hermione said, "I'm so sorry."

"So this is where I'm at now. In case you missed that part. Now, I have no idea how to fight Voldemort without my wand and no clue how to destroy this locket."

Hermione unclasped the horcrux from around his neck and put it on her own. "Let me take a shift for a bit, we'll trade yeah?"

He nodded and went into the tent carrying Rita Skeeter's book about Dumbledore. Hermione felt guilty. She hadn't even thought to tell him about what she learned about Snape when he was still outside with her. Was that part of the binding spell?

Hermione had begun nodding off, thinking about Severus and the blood potion he had cast, when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She wasn't sure what time it was, the fire had been out. Harry took the locket from her and then nodded at her to go back in the tent. Exhausted from the events of her travels, she agreed. Losing herself in a deep slumber. She dreamt of Headmaster Snape, brooding eyes, watching over them from a tall tower.

Three days had passed since Severus bumped into the blubbering Miss Granger and he still felt that something was going on that he wasn't aware of. He had been called away by the Dark Lord for a couple days and he hadn't seen her since she was roaming the halls carelessly, weeping. When he came down from the flu in his new office, he was surprised to find the person who had plagued his thoughts for days sitting on a bench directly outside of his office. She stood up quickly when he came down, opened her mouth as if to say something to him and then stopped herself. He scowled at her. He felt more annoyed that she didn't flinch at his expression and found something strangely close to relief hidden in her expression.

"Miss Granger, why are you stalking outside of my office with your mouth hanging open like a Dunderhead?" he said smoothly.

Her mouth snapped shut.

"You were gone." She said frantically, before clearing her throat.

"Yes, I was on business with..." He said, and then stopped, blanching that he had actually even told her that. He glared at her. "It's none of your damn business. Now get off to class or I will call the Carrows for you."

For someone who was forcibly under his detection she didn't seem to be afraid of him. There was no way she had sniffed him out. He had been extremely careful and calculated in keeping up his cover. Voldemort himself was unaware of his loyalties. He had no idea why he felt pressed to speak with her about it and grew more suspicious that she had done something to his mind. A protection spell perhaps? He drew his brows together, not recalling how she could have possibly gotten close enough to do anything to him and then shook it off before billowing down the corridors to do his rounds.

...

Hermione had nearly been driven mad in these last few days while Severus was away. There had been plenty of times when Voldemort had called him away in their time together, but she at least got to know when he got back, what happened and would be there if she needed to heal him.

Now she couldn't do anything. She was forced to wait. She knew waiting outside of his office was a bad idea. He had previously cast a detection charm for after realizing that she wasn't going to stalk him in the hallways to make sure he was okay. The sphere was similar to a remembrall. It changed colors; green when he was in the castle and red when he was not. She had carried the object in her hand as close to her as her wand. As soon as the object turned green without a further thought she raced to the bottom of the stairs near his office and waited.

She couldn't blame him for being angry and confused to see her standing there. Without his memories she knew how it probably looked to him, but she just needed to see him and make sure he was physically intact.

He looked tired again, she noted. However, seemed to be fine otherwise. When he commanded for her to leave she obliged, leaving him staring after her in the halls.

She did not go to class, but instead went up to the Astronomy tower. She knew that it was a safe place to go because nobody went up there anymore, with the exception of Severus when he was feeling particularly guilty. Everyone else was too busy fearing that Dumbledore's ghost would show up with a vengeance.

She sat by the wide open window space and tried to think of where in time she would be right now. She guessed at least an hour had passed that somewhere out in the forest another Hermione woke up after the day she went to see Severus in the past and found out he was a spy. She had muddled with time so much it had started to look like this big complicated mess.

It had started the day she had jumped too far forward after she left Severus's office for the first time and recalled how difficult it had been for her to jump back at the precise moment she had first left Harry so she wouldn't change time.

She knew she had to figure out a way to leave the castle undetected. She obviously hadn't counted on her husband destroying her time turner.

Right before Ron and Harry returned with the sword of Gryfindor Hermione had an interested conversation with another Hermione. Seeing as she had yet to speak to her past or present or whatever you would call the other Hermione, she realized that she had to find a way to venture out of the castle in order to give the same directions that had once been given to her.

There was only one semi safe way that she knew how to travel out of the castle and she had to wait until this precise moment to do it. She had to disparate and the only place unguarded to do it was Severus's office. It wouldn't be the first time she had snuck in there, but unlike before she lacked the invisibility cloak and the marauders map. She wouldn't be able to know if anyone was nearby, but she could tap into the binding spell to figure out where Severus was before she went into his office.

It was risky as hell, but she knew she had somehow made it before and she let that fact guide her back down the halls to the Headmasters office.

 ***I pray this chapter was clear enough to make sense to you all. I know it was quite a bit of jumping back and forth, but i'm trying to get the technicalities down as best as I can. Time is not an easy thing to mess with as I'm sure Hermione would agree with me. Will be posting more soon!***


	5. Godric's Hollow

**Chapter 5 "Godric's Hollow"**

Hermione had been more than a little surprised to see what looked strangely like herself hiding behind a tree, beckoning her over. Of course she knew it was possible with the Time Turner that she could and had been many times previously been in two places at once, but she had never before risked interacting with another Hermione.

She couldn't think of what would cause her to manipulate time in such a way. However, it was a war and she timidly made her way over to where the second Hermione hid.

Hermione glanced behind her at the boys who were discussing where Ron had been and how he got back to them with the illuminator. Hermione quietly excused herself to check the perimeters and went over to the other Hermione who was still hiding behind the tree, wand raised.

The other Hermione reached for the identical wand as well and held her other hand up, clearly trying to prove her identity before Hermione hit her with a hex.

"Before you even say it, I'm not somebody else on polyjuice, I'm simply here to pass on a message that you will eventually be passing on yourself. This moment is fixed and it is crucial that it continues to happen."

"I have no reason to trust what you're saying" Hermione said. "You might have my wand and look like me, but with polyjuce you could have killed me and stole my wand."

"In the time it has taken you to come over here I would have already disarmed you and anyways, if I were a death eater I'd more likely hex you and go to Harry Potter. Look just for the future, I doubt this will happen again, but it if it does, you'll know because you are now the only living person who can talk about Severus being a spy."

Hermione raised her eyebrows. The other her was calling him Severus now? This made her stomach tighten nervously. She could only imagine Headmaster Snape hexing her to oblivion for using his first name. She didn't see how that was ever going to change.

The other Hermione didn't seem to notice or remember that she had used his name for the first time this way. She simply opened her mouth and used it again.

"I don't believe Severus has gone too in detail of the binding spell he cast yet, but it was made so that you can't talk about certain intimate aspects with anyone other than yourself or him and until he's ready to say more I can't tell you anything else. However, the fact that I can talk to about with you is my proof that I am in fact you. You'll have to find out on your own, but please listen to my message and as time passes you'll know how important it will be to come back and give the message yourself."

Hermione seemed to be unable to speak, but she took a deep breath and waited for the older Hermione to say what she needed to.

"You need to go back to Hogwarts, eight months ago again and stay until the time is ready to go to Godric's Hollow. Tell Severus about this morning and how Harry was led by the Patronus to the lake at 3am. You will have to take him with you, lead him to the tent and then after Harry sees the sword, return him back to his time. It is absolutely imperative that you say and do exactly that no matter what you see. He will be able to handle the rest." She said. Older Hermione was looking at herself with apprehension for a minute that seemed to last forever. Her eyes looked older even if they were only a few months apart. She had clearly been through a lot. She sighed and then a small glimmer sparked in her eyes, mischievously she said, "I believe seven and a quarter turn will get you to precisely where you need to be."

Then she winked at her. She bloody winked.

Hermione was blanching at the behavior of her older self, but was unable to say anything because in the next moment Hermione disaparted away.

"Harry" Hermione called back over the tent after she watched herself disappear. Harry and Ron ran over to her, wands pointed, ready to fight. When they saw she was alright, just wide eyed and shocked. They looked pointedly at her.

"You alright 'Mione?" Ron asked, as Harry's eyes continue to dart over the forest just in case.

"I think so." She said finally. "Another version of myself came to tell me to…"she started and before she could even remind herself to not speak of Headmaster her Snape her voice smoothly said, "I need to go back to Godric's Hollow now."

"Godric's Hollow, why? Hermione we almost died back there." Harry said.

"I know Harry, but you said so yourself, I was with you. I don't know what could happen to you if I'm not there. I'll only be a moment. And we already know that we get out of there and we have the sword of Gryffindor now. Everything will work out."

Neither of the boys looked happy about it, but no one seemed to argue with her about it. Hermione took out her Time Turner and started turning carefully back the amount the other Hermione told her to. It seemed rather complicated and reckless to bring a past Snape with her to the future. She doubted he would even agree to it. He barely, if anything, trusted her.

When she got to the seventh turn, she did as Hermione had said and turned half a turn more. She stood, staring at Harry's face and then in the next moment found herself standing in the same place of the forest.

She used a charm to apparate herself into Hogwarts and prayed that this would work.

She ducked quickly behind a castle wall when she made it inside. The carrows were walking right towards her. She reached behind her and opened the door to the nearest door behind her and ducked inside.

It was a pretty known spot, but nobody ever went into the bathroom because of Moaning Myrtle. She had expected Myrtle to greet her, but she soon realized that Myrtle was gone, probably hiding, because in the bath sat a naked Headmaster Snape.

Her mouth fell open at the sight of him. His eyes were shut, arms relaxed in the water. He wasn't a bubble man and so the water was clear revealing a rather large _erect_ male counterpart. She had never thought of him in that way never imagined she would ever even see him like this, but something odd happened when she did.

She found that her body unexpectedly responded to the sight of him, even as her face turned bright red. Her thighs tightened as she felt a rush of warmth in between her legs. She took a deep breath and found that even with everything going on that there was denying that Severus Snape was all man. There was not a single boyish thing about him. He was proportioned, had strong, slender arms and a wide chest covered with hair.

Hermione had only ever been with Ron sexually the night before Bill's wedding because she knew it was only a matter of time before they went on the run and Hermione wasn't going to bloody die a virgin. Ron was her friend and she supposed they could potentially be more, but Ron had been a quick and selfish lover. He had been frantic and over excited leaving Hermione wondering what the big deal about sex was anyways. She found herself thinking that sex with Snape wouldn't be like that at all.

Hermione didn't get a chance to further explore these thoughts because Snape's eyes were no longer shut. His face had turned a crimson color, but it was unclear if it was from anger or embarrassment.

"Miss Granger shield your eyes!" he bellowed at her. She turned around and faced the door, horrified that she had been gawking at the Headmaster. She cursed the other Hermione who had winked at her, knowing she was going to end up here. It wasn't funny. Clearly she would have to keep the other version of herself from reliving the horror of this situation.

She heard splashing around behind her and cursing as Severus got out of the bath. He wrapped a robe around himself.

"How the bloody hell did you even get in here?" he said, his voice a higher octave then she had ever heard it before.

"The carrows were coming and the door wasn't locked." She explained dumbly, turning back to face him. His hair was wet and pulled back behind his ears. She swallowed trying to remind herself who the man was and how much he looked like he was going to throw her out of here.

"Of course it was locked!" he said and then stopped and cursed again under his breath. "Fucking binding spell." She heard him mumble.

He sighed angrily and then grabbed her arm. Before she could respond they had apparated to his chambers. Hermione didn't know what to expect Snapes living quarters would look like, but this wasn't it. The chambers were very warm and cozy. A small kitchen in the corner with a tea kettle and a couch placed against a wall with a sitting chair. There were also books on every surface of the room.

"Wait here." He commanded before disappearing through another door. His bedroom? Hermione went up to nearest tomb and picked it up. Snape appeared in the doorway wearing his usual buttoned up robes and snapped at her to put the book down and not touch anything.

Hermione put it back down and awkwardly sat down on the couch as he stood away from her and tried to intimidated her by staring down his nose and glowering at her. She did swallow as if on cue, but found him to be slightly less scary after seeing him in the nude. She wondered why he wore such conservative clothes when he had such an amazing-

She shook her head and stared forward. What was wrong with her? Was she so starved for physical contact that she'd place her attentions on the first naked man she saw?

She let her eyes roam around the room, trying to find anything to think about other than him. Her eyes fixed on a shiny piece of metal that was reflected by the light of a window and she got up immediately.

"Is that the sword of Gryffindor?" she said hurriedly, going over to pick it up.

"Don't." Snape said, grabbing her hand before she could touch it. "Only a true act of Gryffindor would allow you grab it. I don't know what would happen if anyone tried to handle it, but I imagine it would be lethal." He warned her.

"Where did you find it?" she asked, taking a step back from it.

He rose his eyebrows at her. "As headmaster, I have access to certain artifacts."

"How could you hide it from Voldemort?" she said. "Surely, he wouldn't let it just be out in the open at the castle."

"There is another as a replacement Miss Granger." He said.

"A fake?" she exclaimed, "brilliant." She smiled at him, which resulted in him frowning deeply back at her. Well a frown was better than a scowl she supposed.

"Miss Granger, what are you doing here?" he said.

She sighed.

"A future version of myself came back and told me that I had to. It makes more sense now seeing that you have the sword. The only place where it would be safe with a fake would be in the future."

"What are you babbling on about?" he asked confused. "Why would a future version of yourself need a past version of myself instead of a present. You travel through time like it's a game. You have no idea how reckless it is to keep coming back here to me."

"I do actually, but the I was told that the moment is fixed in time and I don't know why, but I have never previously spoken to another version of myself in the years of using the Time Turner so I'm not about to take it lightly. Besides I already know from Harry that I was in Godric's Hollow with him. The only thing I didn't know was that apparently you will be there too."

"For an eighteen year old you do seem to hold your thoughts rather highly." He said, scowling again.

"I am not eighteen. I am twenty-two. Time jumping since third year has caught up with me." She said, surprising herself by scowling back at him. His eyebrows raised and then he took a step away from her.

"Tell me exactly what this other _you_ told you. Don't leave anything out. It might be important." He demanded, sitting down in one of the chairs. She sat down on the couch and recalled word, by word what the other Hermione had said.

"She said that we could trust her because she knew that you were a spy. Something about the binding spell and how only I can speak of it. She also said to tell you that Harry finds the sword of Gryffindor from your patronus that leads him to a lake at three am in 7 months, but that you have to come to the future and do it. She didn't say why. Also, I know I'm supposed to go to Grodric's Hollow where Harry's parents were killed the night before he gets the sword."

Hermione left the part out that her other self had pretty much trapped her into seeing him naked.

"Going to Godric's Hollow is a stupid move. Voldemort already has spies waiting for him to arrive there." He said softly.

"And the spies will find us, and Harry's wand will be destroyed, but all of it is apparently necessary to us getting the sword."

"Without his wand he might have to make an act of a true Gryffindor to lay claim on the sword again." Snape said. He took a breath. "You will have to be very calculated. Do not get distracted in trying to save anyone."

She sat up straighter.

"You're going to do it?" she asked.

"Well, it sounds like there is no choice in the matter. You wouldn't have risked yourself relaying a message like that if there was another way." He said standing up. "So let's go." He took his wand out and charmed the spell into fitting in the sorting hat before tucking into his robes.

"You'll have to stand close to me." She swallowed.

"I am aware of how the Time Turner works Miss Granger." He snapped back. Apparently she was the only one who had been affected by the bath thing earlier. She blushed again, but before he could throw another insult towards her she untucked her Time Turner, placed it over their heads and began counting.

When they landed, they waited hidden in the forest for a moment. She could hear herself trying to convince Harry why she should go back to the castle to speak with Dumbledore's portrait.

"Harry even if Professor Snape is there, I'll have the marauders map, the invisibility cloak and the time turner. It's dangerous, but it's a risk I'm willing to take if I can talk to Dumbledore."

Snape raised his eyebrows at her. "So that's what you were doing there." He whispered. She blushed and ssh'ed him to be quiet. His eyebrows raised a fraction higher when she did this and something very similar to a smirk seemed to stretch across his mouth. The movement was so distracting to her that she almost missed that the campsite had grown silent and Harry was alone. She looked at Severus, pointedly, not sure what she was trying to mentally tell him, but just hoping that everything would work out the way it was supposed to.

"Harry!" she said when she came into view of him. She practically could feel Severus somewhere in the forest watching her.

"Hermione, you're back. What happened? Did you make it into Hogwarts?" he asked.

"I did" she said, "but I didn't find the sword."

"Dumbledore didn't tell you anything?" he asked.

 _'Just that Severus Snape was a double agent'_ she thought, but shook her head.

"But I was thinking maybe we should go to Godric's Hollow after all. I know Rita Skeeter is known for being a bit fictional, but there is source she's used in the book who lives in Godric's Hollow who might know something about where Dumbledore put the sword."

She could practically see Harry's thoughts playing out in his head. He desperately wanted to go to the place where his parents were buried, but he had to put the mission first. He sighed, "You were the one who was saying that it would be a trap Hermione."

"I know, but after Hogwarts being a dead end, where else are we supposed to go Harry? At least that's a lead. I don't know where else to look right now."

Hermione felt rotten manipulating Harry like this, but if it would lead them to getting the sword she would have to play her part in it.

Hermione didn't see Severus Snape when she and Harry started moving towards Godric's Hollow, but she knew he was close, lurking somewhere in the trees. She felt that before she would've found being watched like this unnerving, but after finding out about how he had helped them and what he had sacrificed he seemed more like a dark guardian angel now and she found it strangely comforting. She shook her head, chuckling to herself. She could imagine the way Snape's eyebrows would move up his forehead if she told him that to his face.

It seemed to help with the fear, imagining the different facial expressions of Severus Snape. Although she knew she would somehow make it out of Godric's Hollow alive it wasn't exactly easy walking into something knowing that it was a trap and according to Harry they would barely escape with her lives.

She'd follow Harry to the ends of the earth and she was sure this particular adventure was sure proof of that.

It was nightfall by the time the row of houses popped into view. Hermione walked behind Harry, knowing how hard this probably was for him to be here.

"I want to visit my parent's graves." He spoke softly. Hermione nodded and followed behind him. She held his hand when he uncovered their names from the snow. With the wave of her wand she created a floral Reith to commemorate their memory.

"Harry, are you okay?" she asked, genuinely concerned.

"Yeah, I just I wonder what they would be doing now if they were alive. It's Christmas Eve. Would they be at church or making dinner? It just sucks not knowing."

She wrapped her arms around him and they stood still for a moment.

"Harry, I'm so sorry."

He closed his eyes and leaned into her. She looked behind him and saw Severus standing not too far away with a distant look on his face. She had no idea what he was doing standing in the open like that. She took Harry's hand and led him further down the street. She turned back just before she saw Snape move to his knees in front of the tomb stone where they were just at. She wanted to ask him, but there wasn't time.

"Hermione, look." He said pointing further down the street. There was an older women standing about fifty feet away from them, waving for them to come to her. "That must be here."

"Harry, I don't have a good feeling about this." Hermione whispered.

"There's no one else here. C'mon Hermione we have to go before we lose her."

She led them into a small cottage. When they got inside the women didn't say anything. She simply held up the copy of Rita Skeeters book on Dumbledore. Harry became more animated.

"Did you know this man?" he asked frantically.

She nodded and then pointed upstairs. Harry told Hermione to stay down there and watch the door. She listened and began looking around the room for any clues as to what they were doing there. Ever so observant she began to notice a drip of blood from the ceiling. She looked up and covered her mouth when she saw a duplicate of the women who had led them into the house, dead and bleeding dry from the ceiling.

"Harry!" Hermione shouted, just as a noise upstairs caused her to run.

"It's nagini!" Harry shouted, pointing his wand at the snake and throwing as many charms as he could. The snake was gaining on him. "Hermione get us out of here, quick!"

Hermione grabbed Harry's hand just as he threw one last charm at the lunging snake. They landed with a hard thud outside the campsite, completely out of breath.

Hermione looked at the floor and feeling withdrawn held up what was left of Harry's wand.

"Harry" she said, getting his attention carefully waiting for his reaction as she handed him the pieces.

"Dumbledore wanted me to go on this journey, but Hermione I have no idea what I'm doing! Why didn't he tell me about what was going to happen!"? He went into the tent, throwing his wand on the ground. "I need a minute."

When Hermione was alone she felt guilty. She knew all of it had to happen, but it didn't make it any easier seeing Harry like this. She remembered that she would soon appear from her first mission with Severus Snape in just a few moments. She walked out into the forest looking for him, hoping that he had pulled himself together from whatever the hell he was doing earlier and was ready to lead Harry to the sword.

She saw him sitting on the ground, leaning against a tree. Hermione instantly felt furious when she saw him.

"Where were you? We almost got eaten in there by a snake!"

"You were the one who insisted on going to Godric's Hollow. Clearly anything that would follow after would be of no fault, but your own." He said with his typical drawl. Hermione wasn't taking his typical gruff. She was too tired and she wanted some answers if she was going to continue to play this game of manipulation.

"I saw you at the grave stone. Don't try to deny it. I don't understand though. Harry said his father used to torment you, why would you grieve so heavily for a man who bullied you for years?"

It was definitely the most personal question she ever felt the nerve to ask him, but she didn't feel she had much to lose in asking it.

"I wasn't mourning that swine." He spat, narrowing his eyes. He looked younger in that moment than she had ever seen him. He paused for a long time. "Lily." He said softly, saying her name with a light caress.

Hermione took a breath, realizing how much he had just told her in a single word. She was instantly filled with so many questions of a past that could add into so many of the pieces they didn't understand. She doubted she would get any more from him until he was ready, but she couldn't help herself.

"Were you two—?" but she was cut off with his hand covering her mouth and pulling her by her waist behind a tree.

"shh" he warned her.

She peaked her head out and saw Harry outside of the tent. It couldn't be time already. Could it?

"Expecto Patronum." Severus Snape whispered casting a doe towards Harry. Harry looked up saw it and began to follow it.

When Harry got closer to the lake the patronus disappeared.

"Why did you lead him there?" Hermione asked quietly.

"Only a true act of Gryffindor will allow him to hold the sword. He'll have to break through the ice and get it without his wand." He replied softly.

"But he could die!"

"It's the only way. Have a little faith Miss Granger." He replied.

When Harry jumped into the lake Hermione felt her breath swift out of her body. She saw everything, the locket pulling him down underneath the ice. His struggle to try to break through it.

"We have to do something!" she said, fighting against Severus's strong grip on her.

"No, that is not what you were told to do. You have to have faith that Mr. Weasley will come." He reached for the Time Turner on his neck and began to turn it in her struggle. In one moment she was there watching Harry drown and in the next she was at Hogwarts, seven months before it, pounding her first against Severus Snape's chest.

He simply grabbed her wrists, moved them and pushed her back onto the couch.

"I'll make you some tea." He said composed once more, leaving her alone. Hermione didn't like that he was clearly stronger than her, but she couldn't deny that their relationship felt different...that things were changing.


	6. The Door

**Chapter 6 "The Door"**

Hermione had given herself a brief moment to congratulate herself on getting her message to the other Hermione in the forest without any complications. She couldn't believe she had managed to get out of the castle and relay the message to the other Hermione so far. It was absolutely imperative that she made it out of his office without being seen. Worst case scenario, she could always say Snape made her stay in there. It wasn't ideal, but she knew he would protect her even if it did make him suspicious.

She waited until the stone Severus Snape gave her turned red letting her know that he wasn't in the castle before reappearing in his office.

It had been weird talking to her younger self. She could see only through the other Hermione's eyes how much her love for Severus had changed her. The other Hermione was a clear warrior, ready to do whatever it took to reach their goal, but she knew nothing of romantic love. Her fleeting affections for Ron would dim to the fire she would inevitably feel for her former professor in just a few short months. The wink she added at the end was a bit much, but she couldn't help herself. The memory of seeing him in that bath the first time was too good to not enjoy no matter the circumstances.

She still had the stone in her hand so she let her eyes roam around the office sadly. She was feeling a bit mopey and was having a much harder time keeping herself together than she thought she would. She could smell Severus in here. Herbs and potions. She sighed. She missed him. Her thoughts were pulled away from another voice in the room, reminding her that she wasn't actually alone.

"Welcome back Mrs. Snape, I assume you had a good reason for leaving the castle." She looked up at Albus Dumbledore's portrait and her body unwillingly pulsed at her secret name coming from anyone's mouth, even if that mouth belonged to a painting.

"I was cleaning up after myself Albus. Things got a little messy with the Time Turner. It's all on track now though. I won't need to leave Hogwarts again."

"Ah, seems like you've been doing a lot of cleaning up recently. Erasing all Severus's memories of being married to you?" he said, arching an eyebrow. There was no judgment coming from him, but her time in this room made her wiser to Dumbledore's tactics. He was so manipulative. He could plant any idea in your head and convince you that it was your idea.

"I'm not having this argument with you" Hermione Snape warned, sitting on the edge of Severus's oak desk. "I did what was best for my husband. There's nothing else to it."

"And you're certain it was what was best for Severus?" he said musingly.

"Yes I am." She replied sharply. Dumbledore ignored her.

"What is that famous muggle saying I'm trying to remember…that it's better to have lost and loved than never to have loved at all." He smiled slightly.

"I do love him." She replied sternly. She knew now why her husband constantly got into arguments with Dumbledore's portrait. He was incapable of keeping his thoughts to himself. Had the real Dumbledore been this bad?

"Yes, but Severus will not be able to say the same. I've known him for many years Hermione and never at any point did I know the side of him that he was when he loved you." He said. His eyes grew darker.

Hermione shook her head. What she had sacrificed was hard enough. She didn't need a guilt trip from his advisor. It was also extremely hypocritical of him. Dumbledore was all about doing and sacrificing anything to end the war. Trying to make her feel guilty for doing the same thing was pretty low for him.

"I better go before he returns" Hermione replied evenly. She turned around to leave and just before she reached the door Albus called after her one more time.

"Mrs. Snape, I won't tell him what you did. However, I do wonder if soon you will come to regret your decision of separating yourself from him." He looked pointedly at her, knowingly.

Hermione looked at him, "I won't." she whispered and closed the door behind her. Nothing was worth losing his life over.

...

In Severus's opinion, Lord Voldemort had become more and more insane in the last month as he continued to search for Harry Potter. In truth Severus, had no idea where he was. Not that he would lead him straight to Voldemort if he did. Voldemort had just found out about the existence of the Elder Wand and he was searching for it. Severus hoped by the time he had his hands on it Harry would have destroyed all the other Horcruxes so that the only Horcrux left to destroy would be Harry Potter himself. He didn't yet know that he was a final horcrux. Severus had to tell him when the battle began and he had a feeling it would cost him his life. Everything was placed perfectly in plan. When this was all over Voldemort finally would be weak enough to kill and this infernal hell would finally be over.

He did not agree with the way Albus Dumbledore was raising Lilly Potter's son like a pig for slaughter. All he wanted to do was protect him, but the boy was a horcrux! The sacrifice was inevitable. He had done everything he could to protect him until this moment and he prayed that Lily would forgive him for the role he would play in her son's death.

When Voldemort was done torturing his followers (thankfully Severus had not been one of them this time) Severus immediately apparated back into his office.

He sat in the chair of his desk and rested his legs on top of it. He had a migraine and he didn't want to be bothered by anyone. Something was off though and instead of relaxing Severus spent the next few minutes trying to put his finger on it. Finally he realized what it was and he glared up at Albus Dumbledore's portrait.

"You're uncharacteristically quiet today." Albus replied, "And you look tired. I didn't think you'd want to be bothered."

Severus's eyebrows shot up so high they almost met his hairline.

"That's never stopped you before. What is going on?" he asked him suspiciously.

Albus didn't reply so Severus became very thoughtful trying to deduce what the old man was keeping from him.

"It smells of lavender in here." Severus finally said aloud. "Why?"

"Perhaps your oversized nose has picked it up from somewhere in the castle." Dumbledore replied, deadpan.

"Comedy doesn't suit you old man." Severus retorted back.

And then instinctively, like an epiphany he continued, "Was Hermione Granger in my office?"

Albus pursed his lips, narrowed his eyes and then said, "I can honestly say that no, Hermione _Granger_ was not in your office."

Severus shook his head. How long had it been since he had last slept? He was obviously starting to become hysterical. It was a war, but even he had his limits.

"I think I need to lie down. I'll return in here after dinner." He said and then turned away from his portrait.

While he slept a part of his mind wondered if his earlier inquiries had caused him to dream about the insufferable know-it-all. She was just as doe eyed in his dreams as she was when he ran into her in the halls. It was still taking him time to get used to it. She had not been so timid when he was a professor. Perhaps Potter had told her that he killed Dumbledore. Perhaps she was afraid of him. He supposed that was alright. It wasn't like anyone else liked him. He certainly wasn't about to get all bent out of shape if she didn't.

Except she did seem to like him. In his dreams at least.

Her doe eyed expression, turned into a beam. She took his hand and pulled her body with him onto his bed. He enveloped her into his arms and relished in the feeling of her soft curves pressed flush against him. As his hands began to explore a body that he felt like he knew he did note in surprise that there were no acts where he took advantage of her. In fact if her moans were any indication it seemed like she rather enjoyed his exploration of her body. When he had ravished her in ways that he would never even be able to think of if he had not been sleeping he rolled over on to his back. He noticed a bare freckled shoulder facing up towards him. He kissed it softly. She rolled over onto her side so she was facing him. She put a hand softly to his face, stroked it and whispered, "I love you Severus."

It was enough to startle him awake. He had plenty of sex dreams, but never in his wildest dreams was he shown as so much as a glance of affection as he had in that one. Her face was clear in his mind. Beautiful, but not like when she was his student. There was something older and more woman like in her features that he had never noticed until now. He wondered if she did look like that now. He headed down to dinner with that question in mind, not knowing why he was even feeding the idea of some kind of fantasy of the poor woman who obviously despised him.

When Severus made it to the head table for dinner he was immediately swarmed by the Carrows who excitedly told him what he had missed in the castle. Apparently they had tortured a student with the cruciatus into telling them that Ginerva Weasley was Harry Potter's Sweetheart. He waved them off telling them that the Dark Lord wouldn't be interested in high school gossip when it came to Harry Potter and to bloody well leave him alone and let him do his job.

Of course it probably wasn't true. No doubt Voldemort would have Miss Weasley's head on a stick just to a prove a point. Severus wasn't about to see that happen.

The rest of the staff sat at a long table underneath, but as his eyes roamed over the familiar faces he felt a stab of disappointment when he noted that Hermione was not among them. He was becoming distracted of where she could be when finally she walked through the double doors not looking at anyone until she made it down next to Minerva at her seat at the table.

Then her eyes met his. She stared deeply at him, her eyes sad and regretful and then before he could respond she broke eye contact and sat down.

Rarely did he allow himself to use legilimens to invade someone's mind, but if by chance it was about Harry Potter surely he needed to know what Miss Granger was thinking. He focused on her and was greeted with a warm tenderness by the outstretch of his mind. And then a door. A blasted door. Never in his mind of reading minds was he interrupted by a door, but there it was. And no matter how hard he tried he found there was no way around the door.

He knew Hermione was known as the brightest witch of her kind, but even so it would take a much powerful type of magic to block an invasion of one's mind with a door. How the bloody hell did she do it. Severus immediately stood up, causing everyone to look wearily at him. He ignored the looks and billowed out of the door to find a book that might tell him what defense spell Hermione had put on herself.


	7. Casualties

**Chapter 7 "Casualties"**

"I see you're still here." Was what Severus said to her, long after she had finished her tea and was curled up without her shoes on his couch. She looked far too comfortable. This annoyed him.

"I'm not leaving until you answer my questions." She said confidently. In the short time it had taken her to figure out he was a spy and go to the future with him she had gained some misconstrued notion that she could speak to him with more backbone. Was he losing his edge? Was he getting soft?

"Seeing how your questions come in an unlimited supply due to your lack of self restraint I would be here all night. So, I think I'd rather not." He said, lifting his chin.

She leaned back on his couch.

"Well, then I guess you're stuck with me. I do have a time turner. It's not like I need to be anywhere right now."

He scowled at her. The woman was insufferable. He wasn't bloody well answering her questions.

"Suit yourself. Don't blame me when you get bored of being confined in these four walls." He replied and then turned away from her. He knew if he really wanted to be away from her he would have stormed off to his bed chambers, but he really didn't mind her company. It had been quite some time since he had anyone in here who wasn't ordering him to do things that could get him killed. He sat in the chair across from her and picked up a book.

Severus found himself getting lost in a book as he sucked up knowledge like a dried out sponge despite the other annoying presence in the room. He was only interrupted when Hermione cleared her throat. She lifted up one of the tombs on the stack between them.

"May I?" she asked. He lifted an eyebrow in response which for some reason she took as a yes.

It went on like this for a few hours more. It seemed so odd to be doing something so…domestic when there was so much going on. There were a million other things they could have both been doing Severus imagined, but he seemed to have found someone as stubborn as he was.

It was odd though. Before he found it so annoying when she had been in his class. Now there was something intriguing and admirable in her refusing to break down. He found himself doubting that she would be the first to break.

Time continued to pass and Severus's eyes became heavy.

"I'm going to bed." He announced. He noticed that Hermione's cheeks turned slightly pink when he said this. He rolled his eyes forcing himself to stop wondering why she did this.

"Where will I sleep?" she asked.

"Where you are I suppose, since you've made it clear you weren't moving." He smirked at her and then went to bed, whistling. It would be cold and she would be uncomfortable. Good. Severed her right for trying to out stubborn him.

Arrogant Bastard. Hermione thought as she watched him disappear through the room. Admittedly even his couch was more comfortable than the tent she had been sleeping in, but she was annoyed with him for making her jump through so many hoops to get answers. She thought their journey earlier had pushed them closer to the same page. She should've known there was no doing that. The older version of herself probably just called him Severus to piss him off. It was surely not out of good faith. As much as they helped each other there was no way they would do anything, but clash with each other.

She fell asleep on the emerald colored couch thinking about calling him Severus in the morning just to wipe that snide smirk off of his face.

Hermione wasn't sure what time she woke up. She felt very troubled in her sleep and she heard Snape's voice calling her to come to him. He used her first name so she was sure that she was dreaming. She felt that he was in pain and the urge to go to him made her open her eyes. The weirder part of it was that she continued to hear her name being called from his room, only she was fairly certain the room was in fact silent. She knew from Harry that he was skilled with legilimens. Would he call her with his mind? It seemed odd, but if he was in trouble she knew she had to help him.

She stepped carefully into a room that she had never been in before…his bedroom. Severus slept in the bed with a white transparent dressing gown clinging to his body, his legs twisted in his blanket and his brow furrowed. He was moaning and saying something intelligible. Hermione watched him for a moment wondering if it would be worth his anger to wake him up from whatever nightmare he was having. A few seconds passed and his moans became shouts. Hermione was guided on her feet to his side. The next thing she knew her arms were on his shoulders shaking him.

"Severus? Severus wake up!" she said. His eyes opened and he looked around the room startled by his surroundings. He grabbed on to her. She thought for a moment he was going to throw her out of his room, but to her utter disbelief he pulled her into a hug and buried his face into her hair. She was honestly too startled to move. She felt him take a breath after a minute.

"Thank you." She heard him say. He pulled back and looked at her. "Why are you in here?" he finally asked after a moment. He didn't seem angry, just confused to how and why she would end up next to him on the bed.

"I heard you calling me in my sleep. I thought maybe it was a dream, but it got louder when I woke up. Do you think it was legilimens?" she asked.

He grew passive.

"It would appear the more time we spend together the stronger the affects of that binding spell seem to get."

"So I can sense your thoughts?" she asked curiously.

"Maybe, and if so, then I would you, but I'm not sure how in depth the connection is on base level."

Hermione didn't understand what he was saying, but waited for him to say more anyways. When he didn't say anything else she decided to further the topic along with a question.

"Haven't you ever cast the spell before?"

He chuckled. That startled her. She couldn't remember ever hearing Severus come close to laughing. He sobered his face.

"No, I have not." He said. His eyes said more, but she was getting pretty good at realzing when he was done giving her information. There was no point in pushing him. He'd tell her more when he was ready and she'd have to settle him acting like droplets from a facet until then.

"Well, are you alright now?" she asked. He nodded. She smiled slightly. "Then I should get back to the couch. Goodnight Severus." She said. It was the first time she called him his name to his face and he didn't hex her. He seemed to accept it as he turned over on his side and fell back asleep.

She moved back to the couch, but she didn't fall back asleep. Her mind began to race at how comfortable she had been seeing him so vulnerable, calling him by his first name, and then wondering if her comfort should in fact make her uncomfortable.

Hermione couldn't exactly say that things improved the next morning, but she did note that he seemed less hostile towards her. Even as she edged on the couch with the questions she was forcing herself not to ask him he didn't look at her with his normal irritation, but simply ignored her. For Severus Snape that was like a normal person answering them or being polite.

He had been right about Hermione though in the insult of her lacking self-restraint. It only took three hours of being around him that she found herself spitting out all of her curiosities at him with record speed.

"Why are you being nicer to me? How did you become a spy? You mentioned Harry Potter's mom. Who was she to you? Why does our bind let me read your mind?"

He put his cup of tea with a loud bang on the table in front of him.

"Enough with the endless chatter Miss Granger. If you insist of continuing your prescene by my side then you should know that I enjoy silence. I can't think with your rambilings."

Hermione looked down at the floor and frowned.

"I'm sorry. I just think things would work a lot easier for both of us. And I still don't quite understand how the binding spell works, but it must somehow keep me from telling anyone what you tell me."

He pursed his lips. Hermione watched his facial expression. She had long before realized that Severus Snape was not an easy man to read, but recently she had also noticed that there was an intensity of emotion usually hidden in his eyes behind whatever mask he formed his face into.

She hadn't spent much time staring at his face before and she found herself distracted by the smooth ivory color of his skin and how it contrasted deeply with his hair and his strong brows. He had a few wrinkles giving away how much he frowned and reminding Hermione that he was in fact much older than she was.

And yet there was no denying it. Severus Snape was a beautiful man. Hermione felt he had become this 10,000 piece puzzle that she was trying to put together. Everything she had known about him before this year had been so wrong.

Finally he sat back in his chair and folded one leg over his knee. "One." He said.

"I'm sorry?" Hermione chastised herself for losing focus.

"You may ask me one question and I will answer it" He said again. He seemed disinterested in the conversation all together, but his eyes were weary.

There were many questions she wanted answered, but decided one may lead to her at least understanding him better.

"How did you know Lily Potter?" she asked carefully. She waited patiently for a reply. His eyes began searching for something that she doubted he'd find in the room.

"I knew her as Lily Evans. She was my friend. She was the kindest, brightest witch of her time and she died."

Hermione knew there was more to the story than that, but him talking to her was so new that she didn't want to butcher it up.

"Is that why you became a spy?" Hermione asked. Severus Snape held a hand out, stopping her.

"I believe that would count as more than one question, Miss Granger."

He sighed and took a sip of his tea. She liked how he made the tea. With the water in the kettle. She found that it tasted better brewed the muggle way as opposed to the magical way. It seemed Headmaster Snape agreed.

"How long are you planning to stink up my chambers with the smell lavender?" he said, brooding again. "Shouldn't you be getting back to Potter and his orange friend now?"

Hermione thought of her boys and felt a momentary sense of guilt. She shook it off. She'd use the Time Turner to meet back up with them. Even with the Gryffindor sword they were still walking around blind. She didn't care how Severus felt about her or the smell of lavender, she wasn't leaving him until he at least gave her something that would help them further their quest.

She decided to not answer his question, seeing as it was more of an insult. Besides who the bloody hell didn't like the smell of lavander?

Instead, she reached deep into her purse until her fingers pressed against the book Dumbledore had given her.

"Why would you think a fairytale book would have answers in them?" he asked watching her.

"I don't know yet. Dumbledore left it for me. I've read the book from back to front three times already and there isn't any coding or any messages that I am aware of. The only thing that has altered the book is this triangle symbol with the circle on it, but there isn't a story in here for it. I feel like I've seen it before, but I'm not sure where."

Hermione was mostly speaking her thoughts out loud. She found hearing her own voice to be helpful when she was putting things together.

"I am afraid that even I am unfamiliar with symbol, but I believe.." he said, sitting next to her moving the book from her lap to his to see the picture more clearly. "I believe I have seen this tattooed on a couple of wizards in the past. Older wizards with minds that far more than a few loose screws." He said.

Hermione stood up excitedly.

"That's it! I remember at the wedding seeing it on Luna's father. He must know something about it." She grabbed his hand without thinking and took the book back from him. "I'll have to go back to my time and investigate this."

"Hermione it's a bit of stretch and you were nearly killed." He reminded her. She had never heard him say her first name before. She wondered if it was an accident, but she admittedly liked hearing it fall out of his perfect mouth.

"It's the only lead we have. Dumbledore gave me this book. He must've known that I would figure it out. It must be important."

"Dumbledore has and continues to speak in riddles. He may be wise, but there is really no knowing Dumbledore's true intentions about something until after you are stuck filling them out." He said it bitterly and she felt like he wasn't talking just about the symbol. Hermione sat down again and realized that she was still holding his hand.

"Is that why you had to kill him?" she asked barely a whisper. Severus frowned deeply and then he dropped her hand and stood up, his stone mask over his face once more.

"Do you have no consideration for privacy?" he bellowed.

"I'm just trying to figure out who you are." She replied, standing up next to him.

"Well, stop. I don't have time to wallow away in the unfairness of my life. Let's find out what the bloody mark is and get on with it."

"Let's?" she said. "You can't keep jumping forward in time with me! It's Dangerous enough with just me. And you are clearly a key player in all of this."

"All of the more reason why I should go with you. With all of your intelligence it wouldn't stop Potter from blundering into what could very well be a trap. Luna has been with the Malfoys since the beginning of term. I'm sure he might tell you what the sign means, but you're going to need my help getting out of there. If Potter is captured before finding all of the horcruxes Voldemort will be impossible to destroy."

Severus was a man of few words so the fact that he had used multiple sentences to explain all this to her she knew there was no way he'd let her go without her.

"Fine, but keep your distance." She warned.

"Obviously." He drawled, rolling his eyes. He stepped closer to her. She could feel his body heat coming through his robes. She swallowed feeling flushed. He glared at her. "Sometime in this century Miss Granger."

Bloody prat. She put the time turner around his neck with a little more force than necessary and once again set them off to the future.


	8. Playing The Part

**Chapter 8 "Playing the Part"**

Severus Snape felt the sting of his marked arm more forceful than usual as Voldemort demanded for him to join him. He wasn't sure what had happened, but he knew that it probably had something to do with Harry Potter and if the Dark Lord was angry than it meant that Potter was at least still alive.

Severus flailed his arm over his body and reappeared at Malfoy manor. The Dark Lord was standing in the corner of the room using the cruciations on Lucius Malfoy. Something had obviously gone down here. The chandelier was shattered in the middle of the foyer and Bellatrix, Draco and Narcissa all seemed to be terrified of what would follow when Voldemort was finished taking his anger out on Lucius.

"Get out of my site!" Voldemort hissed at Lucius. Narcissa rushed to his side to help him to his feet and they scampered somewhere else into the house.

To Severus's surprise Voldemort suddenly turned to face him.

He slithered over to him to where he was only a foot or two away, his snake always near inches away from his feet.

"Severus, do you know why I have summoned you here?" Voldemort appeared calm, but that didn't say much.

"No, my Lord." Severus replied humbly. Twenty years working as a spy had taught him to play his part well. He had become a favorite of Voldemort's, but he had done unspeakable things to earn the rank.

"It would appear Harry Potter was momentarily held here, only he was not alone. You see Severus it was you who insisted that the Harry Potter's mudblood friend would eventually lure him back to Hogwarts so I find curious that she was here this afternoon being tortured for information by Bellatrix."

Severus had no idea how Miss Granger could get out of Hogwarts without him being aware of it. Stupid, foolish girl. How long had she been leaving, helping Harry and then returning back to the school?

His thoughts were interrupted with a flick of Voldemorts wand and then a swift fall to the ground with a sudden excruciating pain. There was a reason the cruciatious was a forbidden. It made your body writhe in unnatural positions as you felt like hot pokers were stabbing all the way through your body. After enough time even the strongest of Wizards would be begging for death or be driven mad.

The pain stopped only momentarily. Severus put his hand on the floor, breathing in gasps.

"I have no idea how the _mudblood_ got out of Hogwarts." Severus hated the word, but there were times like this when he had to spit it out.

"Find out how she's getting out. If she's getting out unseen then Harry Potter could very well get in. I entrusted this job to you Severus. It was your idea. Now I am starting to regret it."

Then there was the pain again, only it didn't lapse. Voldemort wasn't just taking out his frustrations he was teaching him a lesson. Snape tried to find the place in his mind where he could see Lily's face and remember why he was doing all of this.

 _Always._

He didn't have time to register why the face that helped him find calm was in fact Hermione Granger. He knew very little of what it meant only that it somehow helped.

He needed to take the pain for the greater cause.

Finally after what seemed like an eternity, when Severus couldn't move and his bones no longer felt attached to him the pain stopped.

"Torture her if you must. I want to know how she's getting out and if you can't do it bring her to me."

"My Lord" Severus coughed out blood as he spoke to him. "The plan will work, Potter will come for the girl. I am certain of it."

"For your sake you better be certain. You have been useful Severus, but even I do not have the patience for your incompetence. Now go."

Severus hardly found the ability to apparate, but somehow mustered the strength. He didn't make it to his office. He made it to the stairs before he collapsed and then everything went black.

...

Hermione's stone pulsed green in her hand, but it wasn't the indication that Severus was back in castle that she found alarming. She felt the pull of their bind calling out for her. She could hear him calling her. He was in trouble.

Without a thought out plan, she immediately followed the pull and was shaken to see her beloved curled up on the floor in the hallways for anyone to walk by and see. It had not been the first time she had seen him like this. She had grown accustomed to the hours he would be pulled away in order to play his part as a spy and she in her anxiousness would be waiting with several healing potions for when he returned.

Keeping her distance was second priority with him vulnerable like this. He could unknowingly place himself in danger or worse blow his cover by being out in the open like this.

She approached him cautiously. He was knocked out cold and was in bad shape. She put a hand to his face and whispered a charm that would at least bring him peace while she worked on him. She would have to levitate him to his chambers.

She glanced in both directions and when she was sure that they were alone she lifted him in the air with her wand and very carefully, as to not injure him further she spoke his password to his office and then she gently glided him to his bed.

She wasn't sure how she would explain this one to him. Perhaps she could convince him that it had been a dream though she doubted he would buy it. Severus was perceptive and very distrustful. She carefully used a spell to remove him of the first two layers of his clothing, leaving him in a loose long sleeve white shirt and his trousers. She first spelled up some cool water and rag and began wiping away the visible marks on his beautiful skin and then she moved across the room, opened up his personal potion cabinet and quickly through together healing potions and something to help him sleep.

It had to have been the cruciatius. She was sure of it. Voldemort usually enjoyed his "pet" or his death eaters to do his dirty work for him, but when he was feeling particularly nasty he would punish his followers himself. She had no idea what it was he thought Severus did to deserve such a severe punishment. She wasn't even going to try to understand that psychopath. He was nothing, but an evil, overbearing, rebellious teenager with dangerous capacities for tantrums. She knew it was getting closer that Harry would kill him and she was happy for it. Severus had dealt enough at the palm of Tom Riddle.

Hermione returned to Severus's bedside and helped him lift his head up as she urged him to drink the potions. He managed to swallow them down, opening his eyes briefly with a groan before passing back out.

Hermione was tempted to lay in the spot of the bed that had once belonged to her, but she knew the situation would be harder to explain if he woke up and found her beside him.

She charmed a chair over and sat down next to him, using the rag to continue to wipe his brow. She stared at the man she loved. The same man who no longer knew to love her. And she waited.

...

Several hours passed before Severus finally pulled through. His body still felt as he had been hit by the Hogwarts Express, but he could feel the magic of a healing potion slowly patching him up. He had no memory between being at Malfoy manor and getting to his bed.

He found his neck a little stiff, but managed to look at the culprit who had healed him and was dumbfounded to find a sleeping Miss Granger in a chair next to him.

What the bloody hell was she doing in here? How did she even get in here?

His robes were strewn over his dresser and his wand was out of reach. He didn't feel well enough to stand, but he forced himself to have the strength to sit up.

The movement caused Hermione to jump with a jolt. She pushed him down by his shoulders gently.

"Please, don't get up. You're still too weak." She urged him quietly.

Normally Severus Snape would have several things to say to this little witch who was telling him what to do, but he was still so dumbfounded that she was in here to muster up any words at all.

He stared back at the dresser where his wand rested. As if reading his mind Hermione got up, crossed the room and grabbed his wand. Severus grinded his teeth waiting to see if she would cast a spell on him, but instead she simply walked over to him and handed him his wand softly.

"Please don't hex me. You aren't well and I don't care how stubborn you are or how surprised you are that I'm in here, and no I will not explain why, so don't ask. Just understand that you need my help right now and get over it."

Severus let out a deep snort, but otherwise let Hermione continue to take care of him. She went back to his cupboards grabbed the equipment for another healing potion and quickly got to work. Severus watched her wordlessly as she moved around the room familiarly and then came back over to him handing him the bottle with an expression that told him to drink it. He didn't know why, but he did drink it without argument.

...

Being married to a man as stubborn as Severus Snape had taught Hermione quickly how to talk to him, but she knew he would find it overstepping since in his eyes now she was no more than a former student/bait for Harry Potter.

Hermione knew that Severus had a million questions that he was forming possible answers in his head to already. She wanted to answer them, but she had to do it cautiously. They were bound and she wasn't sure if that binding would overpower the obliviate spell she cast on him if she wasn't careful.

She took a deep breath.

"I was walking to your office and I found you on the floor at the bottom of the stairs. You were unconscious so I levitated you here and gave you healing potions and a few charms to help ease whatever you had gone through to put you in that shape."

"It is inappropriate for you to be in here and I hope you aren't expecting a thank you." Severus finally managed to spit out.

"I wasn't expecting one Headmaster. I just thought you would prefer your injury to be private as to not seem weak to the people you are trying so hard to intimidate." She said softly she bit her tongue with the last part. She was speaking too familiar with him. His snide remarks often triggered her to reply with mirrored disdain, but it was dangerous for her to get too close to him. She backtracked quickly.

"Obviously I had hoped that my help would at least keep you from sticking the carrows on me in the future." There, she thought. If he thought that she was afraid for her safety he would convince himself that she did have a motive for helping him.

His face grew impassive and he made no reply to this. She knew this statement probably hurt him. They had spent a night in the astronomy tower when they first started warming up to each other and he had confessed to her how hard it was for him to have everyone think that he was this evil, cold blooded traitor. Hermione had been able to at the time grab his hand and tell her that she didn't feel that way, but now things were different. She wouldn't be able to console him no matter how much it pained her to see him like this.

"How many times have you been in here?" he asked suddenly catching Hermione completely off guard.

"I'm not sure what you mean." She said, avoiding his gaze.

He glared at her.

"Don't. Lie. To. Me." He said. "I have it on good authority that this afternoon you were at Malfoy manor being tortured for information before escaping with Harry Potter and his friend. Yet, here you are in my chambers…the only place where one can get out of the castle, with all the knowledge of where everything seems to go in this room. So I'll ask again, how many times have you been in here?"

So that was why Voldemort did this to Snape. She winced. She had tried so desperately to block out the memory of that day that she had almost completely forgotten that somewhere out there it had only happened today. She instinctively put her finger in her sleeve and ran over the words scarred into her skin like a bad dream.

Snape, still waiting for an answer and extremely observant grabbed her arm and rolled up her sleeve. For anyone else they would say that he showed no reaction to the words printed on her ivory wrist, but Hermione knew this man. She could see it in his eyes, just as she saw it the first time he saw what had been tattooed into her skin. He was furious.

He swallowed and breathed deeply to contain himself.

'Does it hurt' she sensed him asking her, but instead he formed the words, "so you were there."

Hermione didn't answer.

"Seeing as how I am too weak now to severely punish you for breaking about a thousand rules just expect that I will be keeping a much closer eye on you. You will no longer report to McGonagall, but instead you will report to me. No arguments."

"Yes sir" Hermione grumbled. She inwardly cringed. It was going to be very tricky to spend more time with him without giving away the secret she had now been carrying for three weeks. It wouldn't be long if he was so bent on observing her that he would discover it and there wasn't really a thing she could do to hide it from him. She cursed inwardly, but instead she wet the cloth again and moved it over his sweated brow.

She would have to convince him that she didn't believe he was holding her prisoner or the prophecy could potentially come true.


	9. Desperation Gaining

***Author's Note; Hey guys thank you all for your feedback and for hanging in there as I keep posting chapters. I am back in school now so I'm trying to work on these in the evening, but I would warn you all to prepare for a few grammatical errors from a sleep deprived imagination. I understand how frustrating it can be to wait, so I will continue to put these out as quickly as possibly for you guys...ALSO looking for a BETA to edit these chapters if anyone is interested please message me! I am unfamiliar with how the process works seeing as this is my first fanfic, but writing this story as fast as I can is giving me little room to read and catch my errors. Will try to post more soon. Enjoy***

 **Chapter 9 "Desperation Gaining"**

Hermione knew Severus traveling to the future with her again was a bad idea. She removed the time turner from their necks and she childishly took a step away from him.

"You really shouldn't be here." she snapped at him. She realized the more time she spent with him the more of his mannerisms she took on. If she had a mirror in front of her she wouldn't be surprised to see the same brooding expression he always wore in her own reflection.

"Actually, yes, I really should be here. You dunderheads need someone to make sure you don't get yourself killed."

"I am not your student anymore and I am certainly not a child so I would appreciate if you kept your insults to a minimum Sir." Hermione huffed.

Headmaster Snape remained passive for a moment.

"If you want me to stop speaking to you as a student then stop calling me sir. I suppose if we are working together you may call me by name."

"Severus?" Hermione said, not meaning for it to come out as question. She was merely surprised that he was suggesting she use it.

"Yes, that's it." He said rolling his eyes.

"Fine, then stop calling me Miss Granger. I have a name too. It's Hermione." she said jutting her chin up like they were still arguing even though this was the closest conversation they had ever had together.

"I am aware of that." he sighed. "Fine, Hermione you should go back to Potter and the orange one and I will stay here and step in if something goes amiss."

She took a deep breath. Nodded once, noting that his eyes were black, wide and his pupils were dilated. They were beautiful. She shook her head and walked back towards their campsite.

She had been more precise with the time turner this time. She had only been gone for a few moments and Harry and Ron were still catching up from the time he had been gone.

They looked up when she walked towards him.

"Hermione, you're back!" Ron said going over to her. She saw the look in his eyes. She knew that the sex they had was carrying on something for him and she knew that if the last few turns of time hadn't happened she might still be thinking about him in that way. However, she just couldn't get herself to feel anything romantic towards him.

He seemed to sense it. He stopped from embracing her and frowned. She wasn't trying to be cold towards him. She just didn't want to lead on a friend that she had since childhood.

"Harry, I saw what you meant about Godric's Hollow, but I think it was the only way we could get the sword. An act of true gryffindor." she said, looking past Ron, trying not to feel as bad as she did. What was wrong with her? So, she had seen Severus naked, once. Why should that change what could potentially be something great. She looked at Ron again and frowned...well, maybe not.

Hermione couldn't deny it. As mad as Severus made her she was attracted to his brilliance and his courage. It was something that Ron lacked. She now knew they were qualities that she needed in a partner. She wasn't suggesting that partner be Severus. The thought was obviously ridiculous, she just wanted someone kind of like him.

Ron backed away and went back and sat down on a log next to Harry.

"So what now?" Harry said.

"While I was gone I was looking at the book Dumbledore gave me. There was a mark written into the page." she opened the book from her bag and showed them. "I remember seeing that mark on Luna's Dad's arm at Bill's wedding. I think we should go there and find out what it means. Harry I know you're faith in Dumbledore is a little shaken right now, but I believe he put that in the book for a reason."

Ron nodded, trying to please Hermione and Harry pursed his lips.

"Alright, Hermione let's go then."

She had never been to Luna's house, though she had once or twice imagined what it would look like. Her father and herself were very different, to put it plainly, so she had imagined something colorful and imaginative.

On the outside Hermione noted the similarities of it to what the borrow had once been before Voldemort had burned it to the ground. She felt fearful for Luna, but she already found that she trusted Severus and if he didn't seem that worried about her being held captive, then she was probably unharmed. It had to have been another trap.

She was the first to knock on the door. Harry and Ron stood on each of her sides and she could feel Severus's presence not too far away in the distance. There was still so much he hadn't told her about the specifics of the bond, but she was starting to realize it kept them connected when they were in the same time zones and it kept her mouth shut when she was away from him.

Mr. Lovegood did not seem surprised to see them at the door. She knew from meeting him previously that he was not a bad man, but she knew that stress changed people. Losing Luna had taken a toll on him. He was nervous and he looked guilty. She could only hope to get the information out of him before he told Voldemort where they were.

She hated to admit it, but just seeing the desperation on his face, made her realize that Severus returning to the future with her was a good choice. There seemed to be several charms on this house and it would take a mere flick of the wand to get the message for them to get captured.

"Mr. Lovegood," Harry began, "We have a few questions for you if that's alright."

"Oh, yes, yes, of course come in. Luna is just outside, but she should be a long shortly. I'm sure she'd be very happy to see you. Should I put the kettle on? How do you three take your tea?" He was rambling nervously. It was pretty transparent, but Severus had been right about Harry being oblivious and blundering into the house anyways.

She trusted Harry and even Ron with her life, but she was worried that the boys had a far more extensive list of people to trust then she did. The war had already blurred evil and good together. What seemed to be was no longer as clear cut as Hermione had once believed. Severus certainly had a dark side, but even without telling her hardly anything about himself she was blown away with how much good was actually in him. Just in the contrary, there was an innocence and liberation to the lovegood's mannerisms, but she knew that in an act of desperation Mr. Lovegood was still capable of betraying the cause for someone he loved.

It hadn't been that long ago she had found out that Severus was a spy, but she still felt that her whole world had been turned upside down and although it might help her harden in this war, she wasn't sure how it would change her in the long run. She wasn't sure what was happening to her. She felt older now, like they had been on the run for more than just a few short months. The life when she had attended Hogwarts as a student seemed like it belonged to a different person. She wondered if Severus felt the same way after becoming Headmaster. She made a note to herself to ask him when she saw him again.

"Hermione?" Ron said, nudging her. "You okay...you seem a little out of it."

She smiled weakly at him. She still felt guilty. It was her voice that had led him back to their camp he had told her. When she had sex with him, she really hadn't meant to use him. There had been something brewing between them since third year, but just as school felt to her now, the feeling she once had for him felt like they had been experienced by a different person altogether.

"It's all the time jumping I think." she admitted honestly. It is helpful in giving me time to figure out how to help Harry, but I'm starting to feel like i'm constantly in two places at once."

She felt better being able to tell him this. She was afraid with the binding spell she would have to lie to her friends until the finishing of the war and she was glad that as long as it didn't mention Severus she could speak about it.

"Hopefully Luna's father will be able to lead us in the right direction. You said you wanted to see him because of a mark right 'mione?" Ron said.

She nodded, her thoughts once again focussed on the fact that she was here with a job to do. She once again took out the book from her magically sized bag and opened the page she had turned down dog eared revealing the symbol Dumbledore had hidden in its pages.

"Sir, I was hoping you would be able to tell us what this meant?" Hermione said. "I saw it on your arm so I thought you might know."

He put three cups of tea on the coffee table in front of them and sat down in the chair sitting directly across from the couch where the golden trio sat closely together.

He rolled up his shirt and revealed the mark Hermione had shown him in the book and she was glad that she had been right to at least come here to find out the meaning of it.

"What you are referring to is the story of the Deathly Hallows." he said.

Ron nodded vigorously, "Of course. How did you guys not know that?"

"Ron, Harry and I grew up in the muggle world we didn't hear stories about wizards. Please, Mr. Lovegood continue."

"It is the tale of three brothers. The Preverell brothers, although most just believe it to be an old wise tale so I'm not sure how it would be useful to you."

"The tale of the three brothers is in the book, but I don't see how it relates to the symbol." Hermione said as the same time Harry spoke.

"We've learned to believe in a great many things and anything that might be helpful to stop Voldemort is worth at least examining as potentially true." Harry said.

Mr. Lovegood leaned back in his chair, took a sip of tea and then nodded.

"Alright then. It is said that three brothers were traveling together when they came across a river that was too treacherous to swim across and too deep to swim. Being wizards they decided to conjure a bridge to walk across and continue on their way. However while on the bridge Death appeared to congratulate the wizards and grant them one wish. The first brother and the eldest desired power so he asked death for the strongest wand that ever been. Death grant his wish by fashioning the most powerful wand out of a branch and he called it the elder wand. The second brother was an arrogant man he sought to humiliate death by asking for the ability to bring the dead back to life. Death obliged by taking a stone from the river and and he called it the resurrection stone. The third brother was more wise and humble than his two brothers. He did not trust death so for his wish he asked for something that would hide him from death as lived out the rest of his days. Death was reluctant to do so, but inevitably gave the third brother his own cloak of invisibility.

Afterwards, the three brothers went on to their separate ways. The eldest brother began to boast as he won duels claiming that he had taken the wand from death himself and it was the most powerful that would ever be. That same night another wizard snuck into his room while the brother slept and stole the Elder wand and slit the brother's throat for good measure. And so so death took his first victim. The second brother used the stone to bring back a woman who had died before she had the chance to marry him. However, being back in our world was not normal for her and she grew depressed and cold towards the brother. Driven mad from longingness the brother killed himself so he could join his lost love and so death took the second brother.

As hard as Death tried he was never able to find the third brother. The youngest brother lived a long and comfortable life and when he was ready to pass on he removed the cloak and met death as an old friend."

Hermione crinkled her brow as Mr. Lovegood's story came to an end.

"I do see the message of the story sir, but I still don't see how it's connected to the symbol." she answered honestly, frustrated that she was still unable to figure it out on her own.

Mr. Lovegoood suddenly stood up and walked over to the corner of the room that looked like a pile of clustered mess. He quickly returned with a pencil and piece of paper. He put it on the table in front of them and on it he drew a triangle.

"First, The cloak of invisibility" he continued to draw a line down middle of the triangle "then the Elder wand." He finished drawing the symbol by adding the circle, "Last the resurrection stone. All together you have the Deathly Hallows. It is said that if a wizard were to obtain all three he would be unstoppable."

"So these items are real then?"" Ron asked. Both Hermione and Ron stole a quick glance at Harry, thinking of his invisibility cloak."

Before Mr. Lovegood answered he stood up again, "More tea?" he asked heading towards the kitchen. In the next moment objects in the living room began to rumble as if there were a many earthquake had begun. None of the three of them believed it was an earthquake and they all stood up, preparing to leave before Voldemort's inevitable arrival.

Harry looked at Mr. Lovegood with accusing eyes, "Shouldn't Luna be back by now?"

"No, she's at school." he said, not looking at any of them in the face.

"But when we got here you said she was outside and would be along in a minute." Ron said.

"I think it's time we left." Harry said.

"You can't!" Mr. Lovegood said finally revealing the desperation that had been hidden in his eyes the entire time they had been here. "They have Luna. They offered a trade. You for her."

"Voldemort is a liar. Turning us into him would not get you Luna back" Harry said angrily"There are more important things at stake here."

Mr. Lovegood bowed his head, chargrined. "I'm sorry, but it's too late."

Just as he said that the ceiling of the house began to blow in on top of them, burrying them under debris making it impossible to them to escape. Hermione's hands were pinned under some sort of heavy concrete and she was unable to reach her wand. Harry and ron were shutting their eyes against the wind that was shooting all kinds of items around them and they cuddled together, waiting to be captured. Hermione closed her eyes tightly as well and thought of Severus.

If their bond called out to her the other night when he was having a nightmare, perhaps he would hear her now and save them. Just as she began to doubt her logic, she felt a soft hand grab her around her waist. She grabbed a hold of Harry and Ron and all three of them were enveloped in a smoky black robe before they reappeared in the forest, just as the house had began to tumble around them.

Her eyes scanned the forest for Severus who had just saved them, but he was no where to be found.

"Hermione you got us out of there!" Harry said, hugging her. Ron hugged both of them. They had gotten so close to dying in that house that they all felt off guarded and shaken up.

"I can't believe that traitor almost got us killed when were risking our necks trying to save the wizarding world." Ron said bitterly.

Hermione put a hand on his arm.

"Didn't you see his face, he felt awful and he was desperate. Think if it had been Ginny or Fred or George, Ron and see if you could honestly say you might not do the same."

"Regardless," Harry said, "We made it out of there. I think what we can do now until we get more clues about where to find the next Horcrux I think it might be a good idea to try to find the Deathly Hallows."

"Harry, we don't even know if the Deathly Hallows are real. It's a children's fairytale." Hermione said skeptically. She didn't want to discourage him, but she was worried that they were running out of time and she didn't wish to run a fool's errand when they still couldn't destroy Voldemort while the remaining Horcruxes were out there somewhere."

"But Hermione, I already have the cloak. What's not to say the wand or the stone isn't real." he said. His eyes looked distant and she glared at him.

"What, aren't you telling us Harry?" Hermione demanded.

"I had a vision from Voldemort again" he said carefully.

"Harry we've talked about this" Hermione scolded. "The connection between you and Voldemort is two sided. If you see him then he can see you and you have no idea if he's manipulating the image to set you in yet another trap!"

"I know Hermione, but honestly sometimes I can't help it. It just pops in, but that's not what is important here. I don't think Voldemort knows exactly about the Elder Wand, but Luna isn't the only one he's holding captive. He has Oleander as well."

"Oldeander?" Ron said, "Bloody hell."

"I don't think my wand was the only one destroyed the night at Godric's Hollow. Oleander has told Voldemort that there is a very powerful wand and Voldemort wants it desperately."

"So he's holding them captive." Ron said, "Any idea where?"

"I have a hunch. Malfoy Manor."

"Harry you can't be serious. That would be even worse then when we into the ministry. Without your wand and the other horcruxes Voldemort could kill all of us easily." Hermione said.

"I've got an idea. It might get us killed, but so has pretty much everything else we've done." he replied nonchalantly. "And here it comes." he nodded through the trees. Hermione and Ron turned around to see a couple death eaters who were looking for muggle borns on the run.

"Harry, no, bad idea." Hermione said, whispering loudly. They weren't in a protective circle.

"I'm going to agree with Hermione on this one mate." He looked behind his shoulder. "It's too risky. Run!"

And so that's what they did. Just as they began racing trying to find safety the death eaters spotted them and started gaining on them. They were much faster than any of them three. Without being able to consult with Severus on what was probably the stupidest thing they've done yet, she threw a hex at Harry, causing him to fall over and his face to boil up like he had been stung by a hornet several times and was now swollen. It changed his appearance though and she hoped even with the scar it would keep the scavengers from figuring out just whom they caught.

The shorter one, with choppy hair and a bad odor grabbed Hermione first and took her purse out of her hands. "What do we have here? What's your name witch?"

Hermione spoke without missing a beat. "Lavender Brown, half blood." she said. She was certain they may almost be able to get away, but in the next moment her bag was opened and the sword of gryffindor shined like a diamond, impossible to miss."

The other one stepped forward. "Hold on I recognize you from the photos. You're that girl who Harry Potter spends his time with." he then suspiciously eyed the deformed Harry.

The shorter one looked at his accomplice, "Do you think that's him?"

"Hard to tell with his face beaten up so badly, but I know where to take them to find out."

Fuck, Fuck, Fuck. Hermione thought to herself. There was only one place he could be referring to. Malfoy Manor. She wasn't sure what was in store for them, but she had a feeling Severus wouldn't be able to risk blowing his cover saving them there and there was a high chance they weren't going to make it out alive.

She looked somewhere off into the trees, hoping that Severus was still lurking near by, ever watchful, coming up with a plan because Hermione, Harry and Ron sure as hell didn't have one.


	10. Her Handsome Hero

**I deeply apologize for getting back this story so late. This last year has been a pretty hectic one for me, but I will definitely try to get the next few chapters posted pretty quickly. Forgive me and thank you for all of your wonderful reviews! xx**

 **…**

 **Chapter 10 "Her Handsome Hero"**

Severus's thoughts matched Hermione's the day they were captured and hauled to Malfoy manor.

If he needed any further proof of Potter's stupidity there it was. How could he possibly think getting captured was a smart idea?

Hermione had been wise to hex him so he looked different, but she didn't have enough time to change her own appearance. Her face was too well known among the wizarding world. She was quickly recognized as Potter's accomplice and the three of them were hauled off.

Severus began to feel frantic. He kept trying to clear his mind, but the image of Hermione was too distracting. The growing need to save her was taking over. He had underestimated the power of their bond. He couldn't help, but feel slightly responsible for them getting kidnapped. He hadn't meant to drop them into an open space. There wasn't really time for a smooth landing when there had only been seconds to get them out of Lovegood's home before the Dark Lord arrived.

Potter had only hesitated for a moment before his plan was vetoed and they tried to run away, but the second of hesitation was all it took.

There wasn't enough time to come up with a plan. Harry Potter would be safe until Voldemort got there, but there was no way to know if his friends would be so lucky. And that meant Hermione was in danger.

Severus cursed himself for being such a sentimental fool, but found himself waving his wand to take him into the dragon's nest regardless.

"She bloody well be worth it," he brooded to himself through his teeth.

Severus hovered outside the manor, using legilimens to figure out where everyone was. He would have to get Potter out of the basement first before he got Hermione. Hermione was currently being tortured in the foyer by Belaxtrix Lestrange. Severus could feel her pain as if he personally were taking on the cruciatus. He found it hard to concentrate being so close to her and feeling her pain. He took a deep breath. He had to be careful about his next move or none of them would get out of this alive.

Severus could hear her mind calling out to him. He cringed and then swiftly apparated himself to the staircase above the basement.

Severus was a very calculated man, so it was no surprise that he knew to apparate downstairs where Harry and the other prisoners were being held. With a swish of his wand he knocked out their jailer and opened the door. With very little surprise to Severus, Harry Potter was oblivious to who was helping him. He didn't see Snape standing there. He simply ran to the open door with no plan of attack. Snape rolled his eyes and then apparated himself to the middle of the Malfoy foyer.

The shock on his fellow Death Eater's faces upon seeing him in the middle of the room was staggering. He had planned to somehow get them out of there before the Dark Lord arrived. He could sense Harry Potter downstairs making his way towards them. It was enough of a distraction for Snape to levitate a very confused Hermione towards him. He held her protectively to his chest. Severus's eyes roamed the room. Unabashed by his own stupidity Severus pulled out his wand and pointed it directly at Belatrix. Infuriated Belaxtrix stood towards him.

"What is the meaning of this Severus?" she bellowed.

Severus scanned the room frantically once more for anything that might help create a long enough diversion to get them out of there unscathed. He flicked his wand to the crystal chandelier directly above her and with a swish snapped it towards her. She dove out of the way and he popped over to the other side of the room so he could reach Potter and the other captives.

It happened so quick.

"Traitor!" Belatrix screamed. Severus's pulse pounded in his ears. Belaxtrix threw a dagger into his direction. Snape apparated away. The dagger came with them. With his next exhale it lunged into his chest at full force knocking the wind out of him.

Severus wasn't sure where he had taken them. He felt disoriented as his weight fell into the frantic arms of Hermione Granger.

...

"Harry get a healing potion from my bag!" She shouted, pushing her hands into Severus's wound to stop the bleeding.

"Hermione I don't understand what-" Harry started.

"Just do it!" she yelled.

Harry handed her the vile and Hermione opened it and poured it on the wound. When nothing happened she grew more frantic.

Severus placed his hand over Hermione's.

'Hermione, stop.' He whispered to her with his mind. He looked deeply into her eyes. "The dagger was cursed."

"Please don't die. I need you. You can't die" she said. He winced once and then looked up at her.

"Hermione" He breathed.

Tears began to form in her eyes. When Severus's eyes shut, her tears poured freely over her face.

Hermione held onto Severus's lifeless body, not caring about the confusion Harry and Ron must have been feeling.

Only a moment before he was saving them and now he was dead. She knew that Severus had died because of her. This was all her fault. She didn't understand.

After a few moments passed she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Hermione, he's gone." Harry said. She looked up at Harry and then back down at Severus. She took a deep breath and shook her head.

"This isn't right." she said finally, standing up. "He saved us. He's not supposed to die!" She started pacing around frantically. She shook her head in disbelief unable to accept this as real. She couldn't accept it. "I have to fix this." She said then stopping in place and turning around to look at Harry and Ron who had been watching her with wild concern.

"You can't Hermione. He's gone." Harry said warningly. Harry didn't understand what was going on, but he knew Hermione well enough to know the look she got when she had an idea. Terrible things happened to Wizards who messed with time. If Snape was meant to die it couldn't be avoided.

Hermione couldn't accept that. Severus had been alive in the present until five minutes ago. She had to save him. She couldn't let him die for her.

She took out her Time Turner. She wasn't sure if what she was thinking was even possible, but she knew it was the only way to bring Severus back.

She dropped to her knees next to Severus's lifeless body and she kissed his forehead.

"I'll fix this. I promise." she whispered to him, trying to steady her voice. It was going to take a lot of courage to do this next part.

She ignored Harry and Ron's protests and began to turn the dial. She stopped when she saw herself appear in the middle of the forest.

Her eyes immediately began to scan frantically for Severus.

She was hoping if she could send him back to his own time and change the events of Malfoy Manor she could create a paradox that would ripple to her present self and cause her to relive the moments that led up to Severus's death.

It was really risky, but it was worth a shot.

When she finally spotted him, she let out a gasp of air—she hadn't even realized that she had been holding her breath since she had been on the beach. She ran to him.

"Hermione?" he began. Before he could even finish his own thought she threw her arms around his waist and hugged him with an elated cry/laugh. She didn't care that he was mad. She was just happy that he was alive.

He was so confused by her affection that he didn't notice when she put the Time Turner in his hand. She had already wound it so it would take him back to his own time. She knew in order to send him back she would be stranding herself, but at least he would be alive.

"I'm sorry." She said stepping away from him, looking into his eyes.

The look of confusion on his face only lasted a moment before he disappeared.

As soon as Severus disappeared Hermione felt like her body was being torn in half. Her mind began to race and as if she was apparating she suddenly felt herself being torn from her own body and thrown into another direction. To say Hermione had a headache when she mentally landed beside Harry and Ron was an understatement. She tripped forward and she felt a sharp elbow into her back moving her along.

She hadn't actually been sure of the ramifications of changing time like that, but it didn't take long for her to realize that it had worked.

She could barely register the relief she felt of saving Severus before the realization of horror that they were being taken to Malfoy Manor and nobody was going to be there to save them set in.

Hermione watched as time replayed itself. The bounty hunters had taken her by the arm all the way to the gate. She watched at they lifted up Harry's hair revealing his scar. They were brought inside and she stood silently as Draco refused to identify Potter. She swallowed when Belatrix noticed the sword of Grfyindor.

"Where did you get that?" She said, blinking in shock at their captors. Her eyes flashed when they remained ignorant and she attacked them before screaming for them to get out. Hermione winced when Belatrix grabbed her by her hair.

"Put the boys in the cellar! I'm going to have a conversation with this one. Girl to girl." She said. Hermione breathed heavily in fear. She tried to steady herself, but she couldn't help, but be afraid of her. It wasn't clear to her if Belaxtrix had always been this mad, but as she shouted at her again and again demanding how she had gotten into her vault Hermione knew that she was insane.

Belatrix hit Hermione with a cruciatus. Hermione felt her knees buckle like she had been struck by lightning. Any courage she had instantly fled. Belaxtrix pinned Hermione onto her back and hovered over her.

"What else did you take from my vault?" she yelled.

"I didn't take anything." Hermione cried desperately in a ragged voice that she didn't recognize as her own "please!"

Hermione felt her body writhe as Belaxtrix began to carve into her arm with a dagger. A scream ripped through her. Hermione had tried to contain herself, but she let out another scream and then another. This only seemed to fuel Belaxtrix and the torture became more violent. Hermione's mind was taken somewhere else. She thought of Severus. She thought of how he wouldn't be coming to save her and she was probably going to die like this. She couldn't even register the commotion in the room. Notice that somebody else had come to their resuce. She simply stared at her newly branded arm and felt a tear fall down her face. She would forever be marked mudblood. Hermione wasn't really sure what happened in the next few moments that led up to her being tortured on the floor to standing over Harry holding Doby's corpse in his arms. Hermione was trapped in her own mind. She remembered feeling something grab onto her. The rest was just images. She wasn't sure how much of it was actually happening and what she was remembering from when it had been Severus who had saved her. She heard the chandelier shatter down. She could feel Ron supporting her even after they disappeared onto the beach.

She cried with a feeling of severe guilt as she looked down at Doby. Doby had taken Severus's place. Somebody had to die. She was horrified with herself for playing God, choosing who got to be saved and who died.

Despite the trauma she had just endured she helped Harry dig a grave for Doby. She sat down with them and mourned with them. She wished Severus was with her. In that moment she would've given anything to see his brooding face. She'd take comfort in it.

They buried Doby outside of Bill and Fleur's house. On his tombstone that carved, 'Here lies Doby. A free Elf."

"It's what he would've wanted." Harry had said and nobody was going to argue the importance of it.

When they got to Bill's Ron hugged his brother for a long time. They welcomed in the recently freed prisoners with open arms. Fleur cooked for them and they even gave them room to rest.

A couple days had passed since they had escaped Malfoy manor and Hermione noted the way that Fleur looked at Bill. There was so much devotion in her eyes. To her he would always be her handsome hero. They reminded her of Severus. She grew more despondent when she began to think of him. She was happy he was alive, but she started to miss him with a new ache. She felt like it had something to do with being tortured. He made her feel safe and without him she felt less complete somehow. She wondered how much of it was due to this bond he had continued to mention eerily. She wasn't even sure if she would see him again. She hoped so. She sat by the window staring outside at the ocean and thought about how he angry he must've been when he went back to his own time. Probably just as angry as she would have been if he had been the one to do it to her.

"'Mione?" Ron said, breaking her out of her thoughts. She looked up at him.

"Hey Ron." She smiled. He sat down next to her. He put his hand on top of her knee comfortingly. Instinctively she moved from his touch no longer feeling any sort of comfort towards him.

"Something's changed for you hasn't it?" he said. "With us, I mean."

Hermione looked at him. Poor Ron. She hadn't meant to string him a long. She just got swept up in all of the chaos and she had forgotten to deal with this situation earlier.

"I'm sorry Ron." She said sadly. Things would be so much easier if she could just go back to imagining a future with Ron. If she hadn't learned about Severus. She didn't want to miss Severus or feel like she needed his protection. She winced as the image of Severus breathing his last breath popped into her head. She hadn't had much time to register while it was happening, but the sight of him dying ripped a hole through her heart. She could no longer deny how important he had become to her. He died saving her. She was overwhelmed with her immense gratitude at such a selfless act.

Hermione felt guilty that her thoughts had pulled her away from her conversation with Ron. He looked heartbroken. He frowned and looked down at his hands.

"We'll always be friends though, yeah?" he said softly, unsure of himself.

Hermione grabbed his hand.

"Always." She said. He hugged her, maybe a little too tightly, but she knew he was saying goodbye to the potential future they almost had together.

"We need to talk Oleander about Voldemort and the Elder Wand." Harry said, coming into the room. Hermione and Ron pulled apart. Back to business.

With a heaviness Hermione and Ron followed behind him ready to continue the war alone.


	11. Gringots

**Chapter 11 "Gringots"**

To say Severus Snape was mad after Hermione sent him back to his own time would be a gross understatement. He almost crushed the Time Turner in his hand when he reappeared alone in his office. He was so stunned at the nerve of that foolish girl. How dare she send him back?

He couldn't even think straight his mind had become too preoccupied with hexes he could use the next time he saw her. He threw the Time Turner on his desk.

Fine. If she thought she could do it alone he'd let her. See if he cared about the trouble she got herself into. He would continue to help Harry Potter get to Voldemort and he was no longer going to worry about insufferable know-it-alls.

He spent the next two to three days like this. Going about his own agenda, cursing Hermione every time he thought about how she smelled of Lavender and how she might be in danger.

It was really sheer stubbornness that kept him from going forward in time to her…not that he would ever admit that to himself.

Severus had always been able to hide his feelings pretty well, but even his peers had noticed the days following that he was in a worse temper than usual. Not that he wasn't still grudgingly helping all students from their own stupidity, but the snarls coming out of him kept even his co-workers from giving him suspicious dirty looks in the hallways. Something he had become accustomed to receiving when they thought he wasn't looking.

It was not until Voldemort summoned him one afternoon that things had shifted to a point where his own pride couldn't stand in the way of logic.

Voldemort motioned for Severus to sit beside him. Severus as usual when it came to playing this game did as he was told.

Voldemort petted Nagini before speaking. That bloody snake was the closest thing Voldemort had probably ever felt to love.

"Severus," Voldemort said silkily, "I have given your idea a lot of thought and although I would much rather just kill her, I agree with you taking the girl as leverage to draw Potter out. Seeing as how he has some sort of attachment to the girl he will inevitably come to her rescue."

"My Lord?" Severus said with a flicker of confusion before putting his brain into overdrive to figure out what he had missed before he gave himself away. It didn't take him long to realize that Granger had messed up time so bad that he now had to find a way to get back to her and keep her at the castle. He had no idea what the ramifications of having her with him would be instead of helping Potter. Dumbledore had been clear of the importance Hermione and The Orange one would play leading up to the final battle, but Severus couldn't risk exposure. If Voldemort believed Hermione was his prisoner than Severus would have to make it so and quickly. "It is done." Severus said bowing his head before moving to leave.

Severus returned to his office cursing under his breath before finally reaching his desk. He grabbed the Time Turner out of the desk drawer. He had yet to push the boundaries of their binding spell, but he was about to. He closed his eyes and concentrated on her. He focused on her soft hair. Her mouth and the indented spot right on the corner of the left part of her lips. He pictured her smile. The smell of lavender wafted over him. He pictured the last time he had seen her. He felt her hand in his as she gave him the Time Turner. He kept his mind there as he turned the dial. He gave into faith that he would find her.

Even in the same time zone as her, he never would've found the Order's safehouse if it had not been for her silently calling him. He didn't know how she even knew to call for him, but he continued to press on to the sound of her voice whispering his name.

...

"If Voldemort has the elder wand, as you say, then I'm afraid you really don't stand a chance."

Oleander's words echoed Hermione's mind. Not for the first time that day she wished she had her Time Turner. Before she might've been able to go back and do something that would prepare this new development of their journey (if she'd call it that).

She was starting to think she really was going mad. She knew dangerous things happened to Wizards who meddled with time and she was beginning to feel that the real danger was insanity. She chided herself. She was better than this.

"I need to talk to the Goblin." Harry said before moving towards the room the Goblin was resting in. "How are you?" Harry asked breaking the silence of the room.

"Alive." The Goblin answered evenly. Hermione knew how he felt. She wouldn't admit to this, but she was feeling the same way.

Harry stepped towards the Goblin and began to talk to the Goblin.

"How did you come by the sword?" The Goblin asked, getting to the point.

"It's complicated." Harry said. "Why did Belaxtrix think that it should be in her vault at Gringots?"

"It's complicated." Replied the Goblin.

Hermione rolled her eyes. They were not going to get anywhere unless Harry took a step down from his pillar of pride. She paused momentarily, surprised at her thoughts and wondered if she was becoming more like Severus after all.

"The sword presented itself to us in a moment of need." Harry said. Hermione knew that this was only half true and the memory of Severus helping them caused another wave of aching to wash over her.

"There is a sword in Madame Lestrange's vault, identical to this one, but it is a fake," said the Goblin pulling Hermione back.

"And she never suspected it was a fake?" Harry asked.

"It was very convincing. Someone placed it there over the summer. Only a Goblin would recognize it."

"Whose the acquaintance?" Hermione asked, already guessing the answer, but wanting what she already knew to be confirmed. She felt a warm rush flow over her before he responded. Severus had always been looking out for them. She was ashamed she had ever doubted that man.

"A professor at Hogwarts…it's my understanding that he is now the Headmaster." The Goblin said.

"Snape?" Ron asked. "He put a fake sword in Belatrix's vault? Why?"

Hermione knew why. She stared at her feet.

"There are more than a few curious things in the vaults at Gringots." The Goblin said.

"And in Madame Lestrange's vault as well?" Harry asked.

"Perhaps." The Goblin pursed, toying with them.

"I need to get into a vault at Gingots." Harry said.

"That's impossible." The Goblin blanched.

"Alone, yes, but with you…" Harry replied.

"Why should I help you?" The Goblin asked. He was such an ungrateful creature. They had just saved his life, but he still would not help them unless something was in it for him.

"I have gold…lots of it." Harry offered.

"Goblins have no interest in Gold."

"Then what?" Harry asked.

The Goblin paused for a moment and grasped its greedy little hands together.

"That," he said indicating to the sword of gryfindor. "That is my price."

Harry, Hermione and Ron talked it over. Losing the Sword of Gryfindor was not in their best interest, but given the reaction Belaxtrix had at them being in her vault they were convinced that a horcrux had to be in there. That was the whole point of them being out here. It was worth potentially losing the sword over. If they could destroy it then they would be one step closer to killing Voldemort.

"You're sure that's hers?" He heard the orange one ask her.

"Positive." Hermione replied.

...

Severus felt Hermione before he saw her. He peered through a window and spotted her in the room with a table and a modest pullout couch.

Hermione looked different to him. A little darker in mind perhaps. He had been so angry that she had sent him back that he had not allowed himself to get sick in his worry of what might have happened to her in his absence. Guilt washed over him now seeing her subtly altered.

"Can I have a moment alone?" she asked the boys. They nodded and exited the room. She sat down in the chair and closed her eyes. She looked like she was fighting something internally.

Severus cleared his throat. When her eyes looked up and met his in wild confusion, he felt his anger return. She didn't even think he could get back. As if she was the only witch or wizard in the world who knew how to use a time turner.

He scowled at her. "I see you survived."

To his surprise she moved quickly to him and threw her arms around his neck. He stiffened in response, but she didn't release him.

"I'm so glad you're alright." She said. "I wasn't sure if I'd see you again."

Severus patted the back of her head awkwardly. He had meant to comfort her, but he had never tried to comfort anyone before and he felt rather silly doing it now. He cleared his throat and finally moved away from her.

"You have to come back with me." He said. "It appears your random intrusions on time have caused a ripple in which you are now staying as my prisoner at Hogwarts 7 months in the past."

"But I never heard of myself being there until now. Surely, that would've been broadcasted to lure out Harry."

"I suppose it is a new development. Consequences of meddling with time."

"I can't go now. We're going to Gringots. They need me to be Belatrix to get into her vault."

"What do you need from her vault?" he asked.

"We think there's a horcrux in there and if it is, that's the most important thing and you know it."

"I'll come with you then." Severus said.

"No, you can't!" Hermione exclaimed. She didn't know how to explain to him that she couldn't risk something happening to him again. "I mean…it's going to be hard enough getting us through. It would be better if we had less bodies and I can't exactly explain to the boys why you're with us."

"Very well." He said, straightening his back. "I will find you after Gringots and then you will have to come back with me."

Hermione nodded before Severus ducked away after hearing Ron and Harry come back into the room.

"You alright Hermione?" Harry asked her, "I thought I heard voices in here."

"Yeah I'm fine, you ready to go?" She said, her mood visibly altered, and walked towards the beach before they could say anything else.

Hermione tried not to think about how she suddenly looked like the person who had tortured her earlier that day. She simply picked up her skirts and walked back towards the boys. They had used a hair growth serum on Ron to alter his appearance and Harry had the invisibility cloak ready to go.

"Well?" she asked them.

"You look hideous." Harry said. She walked over to him and they placed their hands on Harrys'. "Were counting on you" Harry said to the Goblin. "Get us into Belaxtix's vault and the sword is yours."

The Goblin nodded and placed his hand on top of theirs, apparating them to Diagon Alley.

The boys and the Goblin stood behind in the shadows as a shady looking Wizard passed by. He nodded to them.

"Good morning." Hermione said after him. He looked at her quizzically and kept walking.

"Good morning?" The Goblin spat at her. "You're Belatrix Lestrange not some doey eyed school girl!"

Hermione sighed and chastised herself. "He's right. I'm being stupid."

She could do better, she told herself as they moved into Gringots.

Every Goblin in the room stopped what they were doing when she walked past them. Belaxtrix was feared everywhere in the magical community.

Fishhook whispered to them from under the invisibility cloak. "They know she's an imposter. They've been warned."

"What should we do Harry?" Ron breathed just as the Head Goblin asked to see her wand.

As Hermione began to panic she noticed that the Goblin's eyes suddenly hazed over and a euphoric smile passed over his face.

"Well, Miss Lestrange. If you'll follow me."

Hermione had never been inside Gringots before. She had a muggle bank account that her parents had created for her a few years ago. She didn't find the ride alarming though. After everything she had been through it sort of put danger into perspective for her.

Hermione had thought too soon. Without any prior warning they were dropped from the cart and began falling towards the ground.

"Memento!" Hermione yelled, levitating them inches off the floor.

"Oh no, you look like you again." Ron said to Hermione. They had bigger problems. There was no other way out of the vaults.

They heard a distracting rumbling. They followed the noise in front of them and found a sleeping dragon.

The Goblin reached into its pocket and pulled out a rattler with bells on the end. He began to shake it.

"The dragon is trained to feel pain when he hears this noise." He explained.

"That's barbaric." Hermione replied, disgusted at the thought. The dragon whined in protest and Hermione cringed as they made there way around the animal.

Once they made it to Belatrix's vault the doors locked shut behind them. They sighed and took a step forward, marveling at the many treasures in her vault.

"Acrio Horcrux." Hermione said.

Ron chuckled, "you're really going to try that one again?" They stepped further into the vault. "Is it in here Harry? Can you feel anything?"

Harry glanced around the room. Hermione looked around the room as well and leaned back so she could see better. She brushed against a mug and to her surprise the mug began to duplicate and she moved from its path she noticed that everything the mug touched as it fell also duplicated. Ron stepped back in surprise and began his own cloning mayhem.

"That's it." Harry said looking towards a shelf on the ceiling. "Up there."

The Goblets were multiplying around their ankles, and getting higher.

"Give me the sword!" Harry yelled at Hermione. She tossed it over to them and he began to climb the growing pile up towards the ceiling.

"Damn it Ron! Stop moving!" She yelled at Ron feeling like it was first year all over again. Honestly.

As Harry's hand reached for the horcrux the pile stopped growing as they all stood still. Harry jumped from the pile more frantically with his hands around the horcux and the objects began multiplying at a new speed.

Griphook grabbed the horcrux from Harry's hand.

"We had a deal Griphook!" Harry said swimming through the objects that were now trying to bury him.

"The cup for the sword!" The Goblin yelled. Harry tossed the sword to him. Griphook threw the horcrux to Hermione. "I said I'd get you in. I didn't say I'd get you out."

By the time they managed to get out of the treasure Griphook was gone. Hermione frantically looked around the room for another way out. Her eyes stopped on the dragon and fear grabbed around her chest.

"I've got an idea…but it's mad!" she said, she grimaced and then pointed towards the chain holding the dragon. "Reducto!" she yelled before jumping on the dragon's back. Harry looked at Ron and then they both stood there with their mouths swinging open. Well, she did say it was mad, but it was their only option. "Well c'mon then!" she yelled at them.

They smiled mischievously and jumped down just as Hermione had.

"Reducto!" Hermoione said releasing the dragons final chain. Burning down everything in its path, the dragon began to climb up towards the celing looking for a way out. Half way up it lost its grip and they all began to plummet to the ground. With a loud crash they broke through a glass ceiling. It was miracle that they had managed to hang on. The dragon began to panic when it broke through to the room with the bankers. Desperatley it made it's way up to the top ceiling and took off towards the sky.

Hermione tried to spot the beach that they had buried Doby hoping that Severus would be there. She winced her eyes through the quick moving breeze slapping her in the face.

When she finally spotted it her heart began to race. She told herself it was the adrenaline of riding a dragon, and that was probably partly true. However, if she was honest, the dragon wasn't the only thing make her pulse quicken.

She could feel him. "Jump" she shouted towards them. The current of the ocean instantly swept them under the water. She held her breath and the waves crashed into her again and again pulling her further away from the shore. She cried out in panic. She could see Harry and Ron drifting towards the shore. Just as her legs began to ache from staying afloat she felt two protective arms grab around her waist and pull her in.

When they found their way back onto the carpet of his office three months in the past Hermione was spitting out so much water she was afraid Severus would yell at her for soaking his office.

He didn't. Instead he rubbed her back and rung out her hair. She felt him move away from her. He returned a moment later with a towel that he draped over her shoulders.

"I have to tell the boys I'm alive. They'll think I've drowned." Hermione finally said.

"It's too dangerous to use the Time Turner anymore than you already have and you can't send a patronus now because it hasn't happened yet. You'll have to wait." He said finally. He moved over to the kitchen area and started the kettle. Ah, of course, even Severus Snape knew the cure of all powers of tea.

Hermione pointed her wand at the fireplace and started it for warmth. She inched closer to it hoping to dry faster. She couldn't believe she was stuck here waiting out for the next three months for time to catch up with itself.

She knew she had been feeling grateful to Severus recently, but she really wasn't looking forward to being forcibly shacked up with him either.


	12. Scars

**Chapter 12 "Scars"**

The nightmares had come back. Hermione found herself waking up almost every night, following the afternoon she spent nursing Severus from being brutally punished for her digression. She woke up in sweats momentarily unable to place herself back into her room and not pinned down to the floor.

Her nightmares had not come immediately the first time around. It had been a couple months before her trauma began to seep into her dreams, but when they had she was thankful to always have been able to wake up and quickly be enveloped in Severus's arms. She realized now that without his calming presence at night she was lost in what felt like a cloud of despair. The fear of the memories was giving her insomnia causing her to have less control over her stress and hormones. Something that did not work in her favor now that she was being forced to spend time with her oblivious husband.

Hermione never really had given a lot of thought to the trauma she had endured that day at Malfoy manor. She always convinced herself that she was selfish. People had suffered and lost more than she had surely. Maybe she was just scared. Yet, somehow seeing Severus be severely punished for it had snapped something in her. She supposed that her snapping somewhat was unavoidable with the stress she was putting herself under. Not only with the Final Battle looming over everyone's head, but also with obliviating the love of her life's memories. She was grasping at straws, barely holding it together at this point. She had no idea if now being sentenced to basically a life time of detention with her oblivious husband would be what finally shoved her over the edge.

It had been almost a week that Severus had to endure being stuck in bed with Hermione taking care of him and it had given her something to focus her energy on, but she wasn't looking forward to the moment she would have to report to him with him back in his full health.

So far she mostly spent her time letting him attempt to intimidate her and try her best not to look at him or let the sound of his deep velvet voice cause her to flinch. Being around him like this was torture. He was trying hard to scare her, but the bags under his eyes let her know that she was not the only one who was losing sleep.

He spent most of his time glaring at her suspiciously when they were alone. He had given her a small chair to sit at in the corner of his office. He occasionally made her play the role of secretary, but he mostly let her read. For anyone else it might have seemed like a punishment, but for her she didn't mind so much.

She was terrified of what could happen if his sharp perception would begin to piece together the things she was keeping from him. She was thankful he no longer had the ability to enter her mind. She knew he was already trying.

….

Severus was definitely perceptive. It didn't take a genius to figure out Miss Granger was hiding something from him.

He observed her carefully from his desk. He had set up a small table for her in his office near the door, adjacent to the wall so that he could watch her without her being able to openly watch him without turning her neck.

He gave her books to read to pass this time. Not because he cared for the girl of course, but because it was school. He was still a professor of sorts and he didn't believe in wasting time even in the middle of a war.

He noticed that she was trying very hard to put out the projection of calmness, but the way she constantly traced the words _mudblood_ on her arm made him think that she was anything, but calm.

Even as he examined Miss Granger his mind still brimmed with questions that he was unsure of how to ask without giving his loyalties away. Keeping her by his side was the only thing he could think of to not only keep her from leaving the castle, but also to protect her from the Carrows who would have heard of her little adventure and her who would be practically salivating for the opportunity to punish her.

She didn't say much about being tortured and he was surprised by how quickly she had recovered an attack like that when he himself had been in bed for days before he was strong enough to resume his role of headmaster.

Hermione had been bossy, taking care of him, ordering him around with a certain familiarity he had never seen her use before. However, once he was well again she distanced herself from him like he was the plague. She turned passive, did everything he said and was clearly avoiding his gaze.

But it was still like she could read his mind. And the cheek on her when she had been taking care of him. He didn't remember when she had started speaking to him like this. The shock of it kept him from saying anything in return. He didn't want her to feel comfortable around him, but he had no idea how much she knew at this point and he didn't want to say anything that might tell her something she was already theorizing.

Insufferable know-it-all. He glared at her and said nothing before grabbing a quill and pretending to be very busy with his work.

He had no idea what had made him think keeping her in this castle had been a good idea. And now he was stuck with her having to keep the facade of being an evil bastard even in the comfort of his own office. She made no notion that she was on to him, but there was something about her that was getting under his skin.

At night, even with her guarded in her own room, he still could not get her out of his mind or his dreams.

The dreams ranged from so many things. Mostly of her being in his chambers, sometimes arguing, sometimes kissing him, occasionally playing this haunting tune he was sure he had heard somewhere before on the piano. Severus could hardly sleep, between getting ready for Potter's return and his thoughts of Miss Granger he was living in this ongoing nightmare.

He knew she had been in his chambers enough times to know where he kept his potions. He had a theory of course. He assumed she was still in touch with Potter and the order and she was staying in the castle to spy on Severus. Surely, she would have left already if she were not looking for something.

He had already tried several times to enter her mind magically, but was continuously met by the same mysterious locked door.

He was sure after enough time of him staring down his nose at she would eventually crack, but he had clearly underestimated this woman. Apart from his still disbelief that she had conjured a door to keep him out of her mind she was not moving a nudge or giving any clues to how she had got in and out of his office undetected.

He was more furious at Dumbledore. It wasn't like him to lie. He had specifically said that "Miss Granger" had not been in here, but it was the only place she could've gotten out of the castle.

As Severus kept his eyes on Hermione he began to note some things about her that seemed familiar, but he didn't remember paying much attention to her before. On the contrary, he found joy in ignoring her. It seemed to ruffle her feathers when she had been in his class, which gave him amusement. Now though, he noticed that Hermione Granger was not a girl anymore. The war had aged her. She was fuller now. Her hair had tamed somewhat. He liked the way she glared at the book as she read. He could actually see her processing the information. Her brow furrowed and then she relaxed processing, understanding. Severus didn't find it difficult watching Miss Granger.

He was feeling his need to understand this witch was verging on obsession and it bothered him more than he was willing to admit even to himself.

He thought that she must've been very deep in thought or very entranced with the books he had given her because she didn't seem to notice for quite a while that he was staring at her.

When she met his gaze he would feel taken aback by the odd sensation on her face. He felt exposed under her gaze like she knew everything about him. He scowled at her. He swore he saw her mouth twitch, holding back a smile as she went back to her book.

…

Hermione had forgotten how chilly Severus's chambers could be. With his memory gone she felt even more of a chill under his ever watchful eye day after day. Despite him being oblivious about their union her own memories had continued to plague her mind.

She was thankful for the desk he had given her with the books to distract herself from her racing thoughts.

For anyone else sitting at a desk and reading all day would be cruel torture. Not for Hermione. She welcomed the distraction of Severus's books. She coaxed herself with them. Remembering how a couple tombs he would read to her in bed. His voice was deep and smooth as he would read to her. She'd put her head on his chest so she could feel how the sound would reverberate before it passed through his lips. Severus could make anything sexy.

It was also hard to pretend she wasn't familiar with Severus when she was sitting so close to him despite her knowing that she needed to be. When she felt herself pulling towards him she simply made herself remember him being in her arms that day on the beach, his eyes rolling back as he took his last breath.

She was so lost in her own mind she hadn't realized that he had been staring. She looked up at him. The look on his face took her breath away and she ached for him. In true Severus Snape fashion his questioning look immediately turned into a scowl. She couldn't help that her mouth pulled up into a slight smile. She really did love this man. She looked back down at her book.

Hermione knew Severus was not a man to be laughed at, but the way he watched her read was a bit funny. He just seemed so confused with her existence. Obviously it wasn't funny, but she did imagine the many expressions she had seen on her husband's face and she always found the one of confusion and disbelief to be the cutest.

Hermione was better at hiding things from him than she had been when they were together. She couldn't hide any emotion from him before.

After she had left with Severus after her dragon ride from Gringots Hermione had found their situation a bit complicated. She had admired the man when they worked together and had even admitted to herself that she would be happy to end up with someone who held the same characteristics of bravery as him. She felt so much gratitude towards the man who she had spent half of her life misjudging, but staying in the castle…living in his chambers felt different. There was no denying there situation was intimate. There wasn't going to be anymore time traveling. She actually really didn't have anything to do other than wait for time to catch up with itself so she could tell the boys she was safe.

"Some ground rule Miss Granger." Severus had said their first official day together. "People in this castle will be informed of your presence, but to add no speculation we will simply say that the order came from above. You must be very careful. Although you can't speak of my agendas you may cause suspicion unknowingly. You will only be staying in my chambers temporarily. After things have been placed correctly you will be placed in a room of your own that will be placed next to my chambers. You must be careful not to inform me by my name. While we are outside of these rooms you will call me 'Sir' or 'Headmaster'."

After Severus finished he billowed over to his desk and sat down, not looking up at her again for several hours. Severus was a difficult man to read. They had already been through so much, but for reasons she couldn't understand, the more time they spent together the more he kept her a distance.

She had noticed it first when he started calling her "Miss Granger" again. She continued to call him Severus, if only to get a reaction out of him, but it didn't seem to phase him.

Hermione was disappointed with his coldness towards her, but now that they were back at the castle she spent most of her time with Professor Mcgonagal and he spent his time somewhere else. Actually she wasn't sure what he did with his days. Severus was a very private man. She did feel like he was avoiding her, but she had to remind herself that he did have a role in this war. Even though she was at a sort of standstill she knew that he was not. She wished he'd let her help him. She felt anxious not being able to help her friends or the wizarding world in any way.

Hermione spent the first two weeks in the castle going with the schedule he had made for her. She woke up, she went to Mcgonagals, acted as a sort of student teacher…trying to shed some light on the students who were so scared now to do anything. Between classes she spent in the library.

It wasn't until she was walking across campus one day, carrying a stack of books that she noticed Severus standing above in the tower where he had killed Dumbledore. Others might have assumed he was keeping an eye over the school, making sure everything was at it should be, but he didn't even notice her staring at him.

Severus's expression was bleak. He was stoic and he looked tired. Hermione's heart clenched for him. She didn't know why he insisted on doing this alone.

She started to sort of stalk him after that. She didn't want to think of herself as a stalker, but essentially she did always know where Severus was. She watched him at dinner, watched as his eyes deliberately passed over like he didn't see her. She watched as he presented himself in front of the school, billowing his cloak as he spoke slowly. She was starting to notice that he did this to look more intimidating. She used to find it intimidating, but the more she watched him, the more human he appeared to her.

She thought about him at night. She wondered if he was sleeping. She also wondered how often he did sleep. He certainly did not look well rested. She often felt a presence in her mind, as if he could hear her thinking about him and he was acknowledging it.

It was cold in the dungeons. She found it hard to sleep in her own chambers. That's why, she told herself, that she often snuck into Severus's chambers and slept outside his room on the couch. He was never in the room when she woke up in the morning, but she had woken up more than once with a blanket thrown over her body.

The days passed like this. Hermione really didn't expect them to change as time caught up. Until one day it did.

Hermione had been sleeping on the couch when she awoke with the sound of a loud crash in the next room.

"Hermione!" Severus yelled for her. Hermione shot up and moved to his bedroom. Severus was curled in a fetal position on the floor. There was blood on his hands. The blood was coming from holding his side.

Hermione froze for a moment. The image of Severus bleeding on the beach flashed in front of her.

"Hermione," Severus moaned again, "top drawer."

He coughed and groaned as he held himself. His face was not stoic. Hermione couldn't stand seeing him like this. She moved over to the drawers he indicated at and with her wand she opened all of the top ones until she saw what he was referring to. She grabbed a healing potion, bit off the top and moved over to him. She grabbed his head tenderly and placed it in her lap. She dumped the liquid down his throat.

"I need to see the wound." She said, grabbing his hand softly. She moved it away and ripped his cloak open. It looked like the outline of a wand. Like someone had whipped him on the side several times until he bled. She whispered as she sewed the skin back together with enchantments. Finally he sighed in relief and she looked at him.

"What happened to you?" she asked. Severus moved from her lap and sat up, pressing his back against his bed. He grabbed a cloth form his hands and began to wipe the blood off his hands.

"Harry Potter got in and out of the ministry of magic." Severus said, raising an eyebrow.

"Ah, yes, I do remember that." Hermione said. "We found a horcrux there." She said to him. "But I don't understand, you weren't there."

"Voldemort likes to take his frustrations out on those most loyal to him." Severus said.

"That's awful." Hermione said.

"Do you expect any less?" Severus frowned. Hermione placed her hand over his in comfort, but he pulled away from her.

Hermione looked at the place she had just sewn up. It was going to scar.

As if reading her mind, Severus nodded.

"You are not the only one with scars, _Hermione._ " He said softly. She looked him in the eyes when he said her name. He frowned and looked at her wrist. Hermione pulled her sleeve down to cover the words. "Casualties of War." Severus mused.

"Do your scars hurt?" she asked him.

"Not physically." He said. "You?"

"Not physically." She replied. His gaze was making her nervous. His room wasn't very big. She actually felt they were rather intimate sitting this close to each other by the foot of his bed. Hermione blushed and stood up.

She offered him a hand, but he didn't take it.

"Are you going to be okay?" she asked.

"I'm always okay." Severus said. For the first time Hermione knew he was lying. She didn't actually want to leave him alone at that moment, but she needed time to process. Maybe it was because he hadn't really spoken to her in weeks, but she felt like she was out of breath. She needed to get away form so she could clear her head. He was making her dizzy.

He nodded once towards her curtly. And she left the room.

When she was out of his chambers and in her own she sat on her bed. They were the same, she realized tracing her scar. She knew he was the only person in this world who could possibly understand her. She wasn't going to let him avoid her anymore. They need to support each other.


	13. The Insufferable Know-It-All

**Chapter 13 "The Insufferable Know-It-All"**

Hermione's plan on getting Severus to let her closer to him after that day in his room proved more difficult than she could've ever imagined. However, Severus and Hermione seemed to match each other in stubbornness and Hermione had already pointedly decided to get through to the snarky wizard whether he liked it or not. He wasn't so much avoiding her anymore as he was just blatantly ignoring her, which frustrated her to no end.

Actually in truth if Severus hadn't been so preoccupied with his own thoughts around the matter he would've taken great amusement in the way he was aggravating the witch. He noticed she seemed to be everywhere he was, but given the nature of their relationship since they became bound he thought it unwise to trap the poor witch any further.

Severus felt culpability towards Hermione. She had no idea how connected they already were and how much worse it would get if she established some sort of emotional attachment to him. He thought he could stop it if he created distance. The insufferable witch was making it remarkably difficult, always following him around like some sort of lost pup.

He didn't need anyone to baby him. He was nearly twice her age for merlin's sake! The audacity of her. Really. In his eyes she would always be a naïve know-it-all. He believed she lacked depth and maturity. Despite some of the recent changes he had seen in her he believed that his feelings towards her wouldn't change. He was lonely. That was all.

At the time Hermione couldn't exactly believe that she had any romantic feelings towards him, but she was beyond being emotionally attached to the man. She had a great admiration and understanding for him that felt overwhelming at times. She was drawn to him in a way that was beginning to drive her mad. She had never known anyone like Severus and was sure she never would again. She couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to him than she realized. She was convinced that they could be good for each other if he only let his walls down a pinch.

The biggest challenge that Hermione faced was that she really didn't know how to get through to a man who had been reclusive for probably his entire life. She never had a problem with Harry or Ron or any of her other friends, but she was at a complete loss when trying to determine how to help Severus. As she always did when she was unsure of herself she went to the library.

She didn't really know what to look for. She started with the basics…. how to comfort someone who didn't want to be comforted, but it often lead to obscure topics that although she found interesting had nothing to do with what she was hoping to accomplish. Most books she found had steps on how to help someone dealing with depression and grief. Severus was snarky, but he didn't seem to fall in the category of either. She then tried to take the magical route, but most of the books she found in that subject were about how to tame wild beasts or how to seduce hard headed wizards. Hermione blushed not wanting to think about what Severus would say or how badly he would hex her if he found her looking at either.

Hours later, with quite a high stack of tossed aside books in front of her, Hermione came to a conclusion that she had never reached before. Books weren't going to give her the answer she was looking for. It was an almost impossible concept for her to wrap her mind around.

She felt defeated that night and sulked back to her chambers with a furrowed brow. Severus had often chided her on being a know-it-all, but Hermione had taken a lot of pride in knowing most things. She never saw it as a character flaw. If anything she saw it as a strength and she wasn't comfortable with this feeling of uncertainty.

Hermione changed her robes and walked to the Great Hall for supper still feeling out of place and uncomfortable. She sat down at the table and became lost in her thoughts as she transfixed her gaze on Severus. She actually didn't even realize how intently she was staring at him until finally he made eye contact and he raised an eyebrow. It was the first time he had looked at her in two weeks since she had found him in his bedroom. A warm sensation rushed over her body and she lost her breath for a moment at the acknowledgment. He looked away before she could even respond, but it was enough for her to reevaluate.

She had been looking at the situation wrong. She was being proud and she was fighting the embarrassment of not being a know-it-all instead of actually seeing what mattered. Severus wouldn't be impressed with her intelligence. He had been her professor for years and merely commented on her inability to learn from others and listen. He chided her on being too eager to please and her immaturity frustrated him. Hermione needed to show him the opposite. She needed to show him that she could rein it him, be humble and kind and not treat their relationship like another textbook assignment. She needed to let herself be vulnerable. She knew it could and most likely would backfire initially, but she hoped it might thaw him out slightly.

When Severus left the Great Hall Hermione followed him. He knew she was following him. She wasn't exactly subtle. For the past two weeks she had been watching him and finding ways to be around him, but she had never so obviously trailed behind him. He knew she was most likely going to approach him. He moved to his chambers hoping that it would keep her away. It did not.

Only a couple moments passed before Severus heard a couple of knocks on his door. He thought about ignoring her. She knocked again, louder this time. He let out a deep sigh. She wasn't likely to give up. He might as well see what she wanted.

He opened the door and pulled his face into his best scowl to look down at her. After looking at her he found it difficult to scowl. Her hair was tucked behind her ears and her eyes didn't hold their usual stubbornness. She looked nervous. He sighed unable to stop the feeling of worry. Because of their bond he could actually feel some of what she was feeling. He thought to use legilimens, but then thought better of it. He was sure based off the strong emotions coming from her he didn't want to know what she was thinking.

He held open the door further with a resolved sigh.

"Well come in then, Miss Granger."

She stepped around him wordlessly. Once through the door she stood there for a moment just looking at him. He did frown again at that. She was making him uncomfortable.

"I assume you came here for a reason then" He said pointedly. "Or did you just plan to come into my room at night to openly gawk at me?"

Hermione blushed. She was acting a bit ridiculous, but she felt out of her depth. She hadn't even had plan when she walked over here, which really wasn't like her. She had followed him impulsively.

"I've missed you." She finally said without thinking, only realizing the truth of her words as they left her mouth.

Severus was completely taken aback by this. He could feel his chest constrict in a way that he immediately decided was unpleasant. He couldn't say anything to this. He really hadn't expected her to say that. He wasn't sure if anyone had ever said that to him before. He wanted to believe that she was trying to manipulate him in some way, out of impulse, but because of the bond they shared he couldn't ignore the sincerity of her words.

"What do you want me to do about that?" He asked. He didn't mean it to come off as snarky although he was sure to some extent it had. He wasn't exactly good with this sort of stuff.

Hermione thought for a moment. She wanted to say something clever that would impress him, but she knew it wouldn't be the best response. She needed to stay honest and sincere.

"I want you to stop avoiding me." She blushed again after saying this, but she really had no other way to put it. His response surprised both of them.

"Okay, I will" he said simply without hesitation. She could see on his face how shocked he was with his own words. In truth, Severus regretted the words as soon as he said them. He wasn't sure why he had said them. He had wanted to keep his distance to keep their relationship from growing. His whole reason for the space between them was to keep her emotional attachment at bay, which clearly he had not done a good job of. If he had any sense he would've ended things right there, but instead he had felt a need to make her feel better. This was worse than he could've imagined. He had been so worried about how Hermione had felt he never stopped to think that maybe he had grown to care for the girl too.

Hermione knew he was struggling and thought it was best to let him process. She nodded.

"Okay then" she said softly. "I'll see you tomorrow. Goodnight Severus."

Severus held open the door. "Goodnight Miss Granger…Hermione."

After that night, even after Severus had lost his memories and had no recollection of it he had never been able to get Hermione out of his mind. Without his memories, however, he felt a complete loss for his attachment to the witch. Things had only seem to had gotten worse after he forced her to come to his office every day so he could keep an eye on her.

After about a month Dumbledore's portrait had urged him to let it go.

Severus had been arguing with the Dumbledore portrait before Hermione came in.

"Just leave the poor girl alone, Severus. Focus on the plan."

"I wouldn't be so focused on her if she weren't bumbling around the castle, risking everything every moment while she's here. Was is not you who suggested she stay here? For what? If she needs to be with Harry Potter then she should be. Not nosing around my office and my bedroom, spying on me!"

"Hermione is very wise. I am sure that whatever she's doing, she believes it is for a very good reason." Dumbledore said staring down his nose at him.

Severus scowled. Dumbledore always knew more then he wanted to share. He'd give tidbits of information when he thought it was necessary and otherwise kept everyone in the dark. Even from the grave he was still puppeteering this whole thing.

He didn't get the chance to get to make a snarky reply because somehow he had felt Hermione going up the staircase. Or he heard her, he meant to think, he must've heard her.

He knew instantly there was something wrong with her. She always walked in here calmly, with her I have a secret, but not telling you face. Today it was still the 'I have a secret' expression, but there was clear stress and an alarming amount of fear in her eyes.

When she saw him looking at her she frowned deeply and turned her back on him as she walked over to her desk.

"Morning Headmaster." She said quietly and then pushed some stuff around as if she were trying really hard to look busy.

He watched her for a while after that and she continued to pretend not to notice. He was tired of these damn secrets. He tried to protrude her mind again and wasn't beyond irritated to find the same brown door. There was no way she was that good at occulamancy, especially with how distracted she appeared to be.

If she wasn't going to say anything he was going to find out something somehow.

He got up from his desk.

"Miss Granger you are excused to go to McGonagal. I have an errand to run."

She looked up at him with a question. He ignored her and made his way to his room. He was not actually going anywhere, but he was going to use his patronus to check on Harry as soon as it was dark. If there was no one around he could apparate quickly and use legilimens on the orange one to find out about Hermione. It'd be too risky to poke in Harry's head, but Ron was not nearly as perceptive.

As far as Severus was concerned he apparated to the middle of nowhere. He knew the golden trio-now-a-duo's tent wouldn't be far from here. It took him only a couple minutes before he noticed obvious mistakes that would've gotten them caught immediately, broken branches and footprints leading right back to their base. Dunderheads. Severus whispered charms under his breath with exaggerated eye rolls as he followed the trail so no one else would find them.

Ron and Harry were huddled together in front of a fire.

"Harry we have to go after 'Mione" he heard the orange one say.

"No, you know we can't. She told us to wait and she's never let us down before. It's too risky for me to be in the castle and I need you here with me right now Ron." Harry replied.

Ron stood, frustrated and kicked a couple branches with his foot.

"You said so yourself Harry Hermione's footprints have been all over the Greasy Git Headmaster's chambers with him. How can you not worry about what he's doing to her?"

Severus blanched. The absurdity. If they were referring to when she nursed him back to health then that was ridiculous. Severus had never touched her. He might've dreamt about it, but he'd never act on an impulse.

"I do worry Ron, but there's nothing I can do right now! She said she's not in danger we need to believe that's true."

Ron mumbled something that sounded like a profanity and stormed away to the tent. Harry let out a sigh.

Severus moved closer to the tent and tried to listen to Ron's thoughts. Ron was thinking about the last time he had seen Hermione. It had only been a week ago, which confirmed Severus's suspicions that Hermione had been leaving the castle to help the boys. The foolish witch. Did she not know that any point she could've been followed? Ron recalled how Hermione had ended things with him and then began to think about some mournful fantasy of the life they could've had.

Severus rolled his eyes. Well at least the witch knew she could do better than that. Severus smirked and then blanched at himself. He had no idea why he even cared about their teen soap opera. He shrugged it off and apparated back to the castle.

He was frustrated that he had found out very little from his trip out. Frankly, he had no idea why he was focused on the witch at all. He recalled Dumbledore telling him to leave her alone. Part of him wanted to. Most of him had no idea why he found it impossible to do so.


	14. Secrets

**Chapter 14 "Secrets"**

Severus had been right to assume that Hermione had been keeping secrets. She hadn't exactly been doing the best of job keeping it from him since he started making her report to his office every afternoon. Things were getting harder for her too and Severus would've never guessed what she had actually been keeping from him.

Hermione woke with a start and her head spun as she rushed for the bathroom. She barely made it to the toilet before she promptly began to vomit. She felt heat rise to her cheeks and closed her eyes for a minute trying to steady herself.

It was still dark outside her window. She had been waking up this way for nearly a week now and the look of alarm hadn't left her face for the last four days.

She'd been throwing up randomly in the morning and periodically throughout the day and she knew she hadn't had a period since Severus and her had been together because she remembered him making a potion for her to take for the cramps. That was almost 9 weeks ago.

She got off of her knees and stood up towards the sink. She looked at her reflection in the mirror. Fearful eyes stared back at her, but apart from that she didn't look very different.

She didn't want to think about what it meant if she was pregnant. She hadn't taken a test yet because she was somehow praying it would go away.

She began to force herself to breathe steadily. She didn't want to think about it until she knew. She didn't want to deal with the guilt of what she had taken from Severus. He'd never, ever forgive her if he learned the truth.

She hadn't known….when she took away his memories…she honestly hadn't known.

Would it have stopped her if she had? She stopped for a moment. No, probably not. It was the only way to save him.

She did know that she couldn't avoid it any longer. She'd have to skip his speculating gaze in his office today and find out.

She put her hand on her stomach. It felt a little tender. She couldn't go to Pomfrey or McGongal. The question of the father was far too dangerous. There was only one person who she could tell, who she needed to tell, but she felt it was impossible. Sure, Severus would protect her secret…memories or not, they were still bound. But no, she couldn't tell him…at least not yet.

She knew leaving the castle was out of the question and far too risky. Severus was still watching her like a hawk. She was going to have to hide out in her chambers until everyone met in the great hall and then sneak to the infirmary and steal a test. Dinner was the only time she would be able to do it. All of the staff would be in the Great Hall including the Carrows who liked to scare the students while they were in there. Severus would obviously notice her absence, but he wouldn't immediately be able to start to look for her with that many people in the room.

Severus was furious. It wasn't like Hermione to be late. On the contrary, he found that she was usually annoyingly punctual so when minutes turned into hours he began to lose what little sanity the witch had left him with.

There was no other way out of the castle besides his chambers so she had to still be in the castle. He searched all over for her, but did not find her. He began to worry that the Carrows had gotten a hold of her. It wasn't likely that they would do anything to the witch since they did believe that she was his personal play thing, but they might if provoked…

When she wasn't in the Great Hall for dinner either he almost popped a blood vessel. He didn't like worrying about her. It took his focus away from things that actually mattered like helping Potter. Even as he told himself she didn't matter, he couldn't stop himself from thinking about her. That witch would have hell to pay when he finally got his hands on her.

Severus would've preferred to have remembered that he had given her a magical remebrall type ball that let her know when he was and wasn't in the castle so he could make himself one for her.

He didn't remember the day he had given it to her. It was shortly after he had somehow agreed to stop avoiding her. He also somehow had stayed true to his word and even went out of his way to point out to her that he would constantly be in and out of the castle before plopping the ball in her hands.

"It will let you know when I am here and when I am not so perhaps you can stop stalking me." He had told her. Her face had turned a lovely shade of pink with his words, but she took the gift and said nothing.

Hermione could actually feel how stormy her husband had gotten with her and she found it incredibly difficult to not go to him. However, she knew that finding out the state of herself was more important. When dinner rolled around she carefully snuck down the halls all the way to Pompfrey's magical medicine cabinet. She read several labels on the shelves and after quite an extensive search (it was amazing to her how Pompfrey was able to find anything at all with how disorganized it was) she finally found the potion that would tell her if she was pregnant. If she was pregnant a green light would shine around her stomach. If she was not her stomach would with a red hue. It was only momentarily. The potion only lasted for about five minutes, but it was best to take the test in private because anyone would be able to see the results.

Hermione hid the bottle in her cloak and silently moved back to her chambers. Once the door was secure behind her, she popped the bottle open with her teeth and downed the potion. She waited a moment, staring anxiously down at her stomach and then gasped as the color began to slowly appear.

Green.

Hermione sank to the floor, her back pressed against her door. Her mind went into complete shock. The reality of the situation slowly began to weigh on her.

She was pregnant and the father had no idea they were ever even together.

What had she done?

 **Author's Note: Hey guys! Sorry if this chapter is a little abrupt. I haven't published anything in so long and really want to carry on to the rest of the story, but didn't know how to get past this major plot point without just dropping it on you after not writing for so long! I will be finishing this story first and then going back and editing everything. The story will be the same after the edit, but I might just flare it out a bit before I post it as being complete. Thank you as always for reading! The next couple of chapters will be based in the past and will give you a better idea of how their relationship unfolded. -xx**


	15. Emotional Impulses

Chapter 15 "Emotional Impulses"

True to his word the day after Hermione had showed up at his door telling Severus she missed him, he had stopped avoiding her. And true to hers she did come back the next day to see him and all of the following days after that.

She would've been lying if she said that there wasn't huge underlines of awkwardness and embarrassment from her end for showing all of her cards to him, but the feeling she had when she was with him made it all worth it somehow.

He had been kind to her, or his equivalent of kind anyways. He was definitely still her snarky dark wizard, but the sarcasm didn't seem to lace every single word he said any longer.

The day she found him injured in his bedroom she had wanted to be there for him, but she soon realized that she needed him just as much. She didn't feel like there was anyone else who could understand at this point. They shared so much more than a secret and a bond.

She felt almost lightheaded when he was around and despite how foreign the feeling was she happy. She knew that if anyone was able to get a fraction of happiness in the middle of the war it was best to hold on to it.

They never really had deep conversations and he still rolled his eyes every time she asked him a question, but she had hoped to eventually wear him down a little. In moments where they came to a conclusion in a book that they thought might help them find the next horcrux she'd catch him staring at her with a warm half smile pulling at his lips. When he'd do this her breath would catch in her throat. She liked the way his eyes gave him away when he'd try not to smile. She had never really paid enough attention before, but his eyes told stories that the rest of him kept hidden. It gave her hope that maybe she was helping him too.

In truth, Severus had gotten quite comfortable with their daily routine. He didn't even chastise the witch for continuously barging into his room now without knocking and draping her robes over his couch like she owned the place. She'd comfortably and obliviously settle down next to him each day with a book ready to explore different ways to help her friends win the war.

He liked the way her bottom lip tucked under her one of her left teeth when she was deep in concentration. Her wild hair would fall into her eyes and he'd scold himself for imagining his fingers tucking it behind her ear. He also often caught glimpses of her shoulder when she pulled her robes off hurriedly. He thought sometimes in private moments about out lining that shoulder with his lips. 'Merlin's beard', he would always think immediately after and then blush about how demented he was becoming from spending so much time with her. He didn't even want to think about the look of disgust she'd give him if touched her in such an intimate way. It was just wrong. It was wrong.

He knew their bond was getting stronger, but she didn't actually show him any signs she was romantically interested so perhaps it would be okay for him to be selfish and keep her company despite the obvious betrayal of his own thoughts towards her. He never told her that this was the happiest he had felt in twenty years.

One afternoon she had tried to brew a particularly difficult potion that was supposed to show them if there was in fact a horcrux in the castle. Severus wasn't sure if the potion had ever been brewed. They had found it in a very obscure old tomb that looked like it hadn't been touched in hundreds of years.

Hermione had many skills, but brewing was not her strong suit. Her hair had scrunched together in frustration and her face was equally scrunched together. Severus would've laughed if not worried that she might hex him. She was too familiar with him now and definitely not afraid so he couldn't put hexing out of the realm of possibilities.

He walked around to look at her. He could've brewed it himself, but he wanted to teach her.

Hermione let out a frustrated sigh and mumbled a profanity under her breath as the potion exploded in front of her face.

"I don't understand why I can't get this right!" she chided, tsking her teeth like some kind of aggravated bird.

On instinct Severus put his hand over hers. She jumped and Severus immediately pulled away, embarrassed. He cleared his throat.

She could somehow feel that he wasn't pleased by her reaction when he had touched her hand, but it wasn't what he thought. She had jumped because his touch felt like he had magically shocked her. Her entire body had become a live wire with one touch. Her head still felt like it was spinning. She didn't even know how to understand her response. She had decided to shove it to the back of her mind to process later.

He moved to his desk and picked up some papers, pretending to be intently looking at them so he didn't have to think about the humiliation he felt at her reaction. Once he was sure he'd masked his emotions well enough he finally spoke.

"You are a brilliant witch, you only need to realize that potions take heart not brains. It is possible for you to channel both, but you need to allow yourself to feel it first." he spoke to her casually with his normal deep pauses woven throughout his words. He did not look up from his papers.

Hermione was taken a back at his words and her heart swelled. She couldn't help, but beam at him.

He noticed that she was still quiet, which was unusual for her. He was nervous that his touch had repulsed her to the point of complete dumbness. He finally looked up at her and noticed her expression. She was still beaming at him. He noted that he liked the look on her. Hermione smiled with all of her face. Her eyes sparkled. She looked beautiful.

"What?" He asked, hoping she wouldn't say anything about how he had grabbed her hand.

Hermione didn't bring it up, but she definitely said something out of character.

"I think that might be the nicest thing you've ever said to me." She grinned playfully.

He rolled his eyes, one corner of his mouth pulling up in a smirk.

"Now, don't be cheeky."

"Yes sir" she said in a tone that was some how even more teasing, biting the corner of her lip. Looking back perhaps it was that high that possessed her to begin to tease the stern Wizard.

He tried to scowl at her, but he knew his eyes were smiling. He finally rolled his eyes and looked back at his paper. He glanced at it. He had been reading a pamphlet on how to clean magical instruments. He dropped the paper feeling a sudden wave or irrational anger. What was this minx trying to do to him?

"Can we get back to work?" He said sharply.

Hermione bit back a laugh and nodded. She turned back to her potion. A couple ingredients later it began to glow. She blanched at it. She had done it.

Severus got up and moved around her. She looked up at him wishing they were standing closer.

"What does it mean Severus?"

"It means there is a horcrux in the castle. Brilliant Hermione. Absolutely brilliant." He moved to his cabinet and grabbed a vial. "I wonder if there is a way to pull the properties out of this to show where the horcrux is located…it is a far shot in the dark, but it's worth a try anyways."

Hermione watched his hands move over the potion so he could put some in a vial. His fingers were long and slender. It was no question to her why he was a potions master. He moved them with such a fluid grace. She suddenly remembered in heated detail what his hand had felt like on hers. She thought of how it might feel having his hands on the rest of her body. She knew it wouldn't be anything like her experience with Ronald.

"Hermione?" he asked questioningly.

She blushed deeply, taken aback with her own thoughts.

"Sorry I think I'm just tired. Mind if we call it a night?" she replied finally.

He nodded once. He knew they were standing very close together. His heart had picked up speed and he couldn't stop looking at her. He had been wrong about her. She wasn't a child and she wasn't immature. She was beautiful.

Hermione went back to her room that night with a buzz. She laid on her bed trying to find a normal breathing pace. It was so painfully obvious that somehow at some point she had began to have feelings for Severus. It felt like it made more sense than anything in the world. She didn't know how she could've missed it before. She doubted if it was something she would ever be able to forget.

The entire next week after her realization her feelings only seemed to grow with more intensity and as they grew so did her intuition with Severus. She started to become increasingly aware of him. She knew before she entered the room what his mood was. When she asked he'd mumble about the side effects of their binding spell and then would drop it. She could feel his worry, his anger, his passion.

She also dreamt about him every night and would fantasize during the day. Some of the dreams were simply him smiling or laughing at something she said. She loved the sound and she loved when it was directed at her. Some of the dreams were a bit um inappropriate. She'd be lying if she said she didn't like how he made her feel in her dreams physically and emotionally. She couldn't stop wondering what it would be like in reality.

Severus could feel her emotions humming from her as well. He had a lot more awareness of the situation. However, his stubbornness and habit for denial and self loathing allowed him to dismiss it.

He spoke with Albus's portrait several times trying to find out if there was something to do about it.

"Well I'm assuming that the bond hasn't been completed?" Albus had said. He had tried to be delicate for Severus's sake, but Severus still turned a deep shade of purple anyways.

"Obviously not! As if I could do something like that to her!" Severus blanched.

"Well I don't see how it's completely absurd. You clearly have feelings for the girl and I'd bank that they are not all platonic." He replied calmly, already used to Severus's anger.

"I do not." Severus said, glaring at the portrait.

"Come now Severus, it is clear your feelings could rival what you had with Lily Potter, with the exception that this time these feelings are returned."

"First. Of. All." Severus said through a snarl. "The feelings are not returned and second, it means nothing to me if they were because there are no feelings to begin with."

Severus knew that if he wanted to put more thought into it his brilliant mind could probably figure out exactly how he felt about Hermione, but he had no desire to have form more of a bond with someone who deserved better than a bitter old man.

"Perhaps that is what you need to tell yourself for now." He said, "but I highly doubt Miss Granger will allow it for much longer."

And Albus was right.


	16. The Choice

***Warning this chapter is rated M.***

 **Chapter 16 "The Choice"**

Severus hadn't rationally expected Hermione to report to him after she didn't show up to dinner, but he still found himself pacing well into the night near his office door with his eyes transfixed on the knob as if he half expected it to turn.

He barely slept that night and as the light began to seep through his window indicating that morning had come, his fury only seemed to increase.

It was half past 7 when his knob actually did turn. He had previously told himself he wouldn't pounce on her like a lion with a mouse when he saw her, however as soon as caught a glimmer of her wavy brown hair and small figure all logic and reason went out the window.

"Where were you?" Severus asked in a furious tone pacing around her and unknowingly backing her towards his desk. If he had been more in his senses he would've noticed immediately that the back of her legs brushed his desk and he certainly wouldn't have stepped even closer to her, trapping her there. He stared down his nose at her, only a few inches away from her. She craned her neck up to look at him and stared back at him with frightened eyes.

Severus couldn't quite explain the intensity of his reaction to Hermione when she finally showed up. He knew he had better things to worry about than Potter and his dunderhead friends, but even still he was sort of verging on being seen as inappropriate or a raging lunatic.

"I-I was busy" she replied stupidly.

Severus felt his eyes blaze over at the lack of excuse. He stepped even closer to her without awareness.

"Don't. Lie. To. Me." He replied speaking forcefully. His breathing became small pants and he did smell lavender in that moment. On impulse he attempted to push into her mind once again, surprising himself to find that he was no longer faced with a locked door.

Hermione had been to overwhelmed to wish him out of her mind. After the latest news of her pregnancy she had begun to regret her choice to erase his memories and save him versus finding another way and raising their child together. She had begun to feel that she had been too desperate and rash in her decision. She had never been one to believe in prophecies. She had just been so scared for him. Now with him standing so close to her she longed for the familiar comfort of his arms, words and kiss. She knew he'd some how calm, just as he always had when he had remembered that he loved her.

Severus saw the image of himself in her mind. The image of him grabbing her by the waist and picking her up to place her on his desk. She wrapped her legs around his waist and he embraced her with a passionate kiss.

The image pulled from her mind was shocking to him, but not as shocking as the immediate desire to give her what she wanted. In that moment he forgot about his anger. He merely looked into her eyes and saw something that seemed so familiar and right, but that made very little sense to him.

Hermione stared at him with wide eyes, recognizing the look on her husband's face that he got right before he was about to make love to her. It only took her a moment before she realized what she had done and once more put up a door blocking her thoughts from him.

He seemed taken a back at suddenly being thrown from her mind once again. It was enough for him to somehow pull himself out of his lust for her.

He pulled away from her, breathing sharply. He couldn't believe he had gotten so out of control.

"Get. Out." He said. Hermione began to step towards him, suddenly more terrified of whatever she had just done to him. He took a step away from her and then seeing that she wasn't about to run away from him he stormed out of the room without looking at her, afraid of irrational behavior.

When the door slammed behind him Hermione looked at Dumbledore's portrait.

"You still think erasing his memories was a good idea? You two are bonded Hermione."

"I did what I had to do to save him." Hermione said, although her voice sounded more doubtful than she would've liked. She was almost sure that Dumbledore didn't know that she was pregnant yet, but there was no way of being sure since he did always seem to be ten steps ahead even after death.

A wave of guilt hit her again. She had taken away his choice of being bound to her and it was a choice that he had once given her.

She would never forget the day he hag given her that choice.

It had been a about a month after she realized she had feelings for him and she was almost sure at that point that she had started to fall for him. Every day she was with him she felt the pull towards him become more and more intense until finally she couldn't imagine being without him. He was the most amazing, most breath taking thing she had ever known. She never knew such a strong connection to anyone and although she had begun to felt that the feeling was mutual she couldn't shake the feeling that he was reluctant to take the next step.

Until one day when things changed…

They had been sitting on the sofa, pretty close together, knees almost brushing in adamant discussion about a particular book that they agreed would help them find the next horcrux. They already believed at that point that they would find the next horcrux in the castle although it had taken some time to figure out what Voldemort valued enough. They deducted that because the Slytherian locket and the Hufflepuff goblet were horcuxes the chances that the next horcux was Gryfindor or Ravenclaw were high. Severus thought it less likely that it would be Gryfindor because the sword had been used to destroy a horcux and thought it would be something valuable that had belonged to Rowena Ravenclaw. The book they were reading was a history on Rowena. Severus finally deducted that it would've probably have been her diadem. Hermione stared at him with awe. She couldn't believe how brilliant he was.

She placed her hand on top of his. When she didn't move away from her she used some of her Gryfindor courage and moved her hand to his face.

"You are so brilliant." She said softly, caressing his face. He closed his eyes briefly and then reopened them. He slowly moved her hand off his face and pulled away from her. He stood up and Hermione felt the sting of immediate rejection.

"Severus?" she said softly, confused. She had been almost positive that things had shifted from friendship to something more with them, but she didn't understand why he was still pulling away from her.

"Hermione" he began warningly.

"Do you not feel the same way I do?" she said, looking up at him with sad eyes.

It was only then that they had ever spoken aloud about how they felt. He had speculated her feelings at that point as well, but like everything else he had dismissed them. Having them spoken out loud in that moment made it hard for him to deny her.

"It's not that." He finally said.

"Then what is it?" She asked. When he said nothing she shook her head, frustrated. "Everyone needs someone Severus, even you. You might be able to convince everyone and even yourself that you don't, but you do."

He raised his eyebrows. She knew it was his way to intimidate him, but she wasn't going to let it back her down this time.

"If you don't let someone in you will always have to face everything alone."

"What makes you think I mind facing things alone?" He asked skeptically.

"Because I've gotten to know you and I know that although your proud and brave and brilliant you're also lonely. I know you carry a lot and you're smart to not trust anyone, but maybe if you did it wouldn't be a bad thing. Maybe someone could actually understand for once."

He re-sat down next to her.

"You have awakened something in me that I haven't felt for a very, very long time. Something that I didn't think was possible for me to ever feel again and even more so something that I never imagined would be returned…."

Hermione put her hand on his again and looked up at him.

"It is returned. I know I'm young, but I promise you how I feel about you isn't something that I take lightly."

He blinked, surprised at what she said. No one had ever dared to get close to him before. He had never had to try too hard to keep people at a distance. He had the tendency to repulse most without trying. So hearing this young, beautiful witch tell him something so open and welcoming he forgot who he was for a moment and just let her words hit him.

Hermione was surprised at his reaction. It was the first time she had seen him with his guard completely down. She swallowed and decided to continue in this moment before he snapped out of it.

"I am a selfish man Hermione, but I cannot take away your choice no matter how badly I want to." He took a deep breath. "I cannot be with you."

"I…I don't understand."

"The day you found out about where my loyalties actually lie I had to act quickly and there were only two sure ways I knew in that moment that would guarantee that you would never tell anyone about me; obliviation or a binding…ceremony or as some refer to as a wedding."

Hermione blinked at him, her heart quickening in speed.

"We're married?" she breathed.

"Technically…however, because the spell is so old it is not permanently binding unless it is consummated." He said, blushing slightly. "Which obviously when I cast the spell I never imagined that there was a possibility that it ever would be."

"So if we…" she began and then let her voice trail off suggestively.

"Then we would be permanently bound and you would never be able to form another connection with someone else. It would always feel like something is lacking."

"Does this spell create feelings?" She asked.

"No. It does not. That seems to have been something that happened organically."

She let out a sigh of relief.

Severus misinterpreted her sigh as relief in them not being permanently bound. Not that he could blame her. She might be attached now, but she was young and obviously wouldn't want to be tied down to someone almost twice her age for the rest of her life.

He cleared his throat. "Well, I'll let you think on that. I assure you if you desire to never have this conversation again I can continue on as though nothing happened."

He then stood up and turned out of the room without another glance at her. If Hermione had been able to do it over again she would've immediately followed after him, but she was still in a bit of a shock.

It was a lot of information she had just received from him and although she didn't blame him or necessarily regret what he had told her she still needed a minute to process. Although she could tell he assumed what her answer was to his words she knew that he had still given her a choice and she didn't want to take it lightly.

She spent the rest of the evening contemplating his words. Despite the weight of reasoning or the fact that this choice would be permanent she couldn't seem to sway herself from believing that there really wasn't a choice. Not for her anyways.

It hadn't taken long for her to realize how she felt about him. Since the moment he sacrificed himself on the beach—whether he remembered it or not—she couldn't stop feeling like he was a part of her. Her entire life she had felt out of place, but somehow with him she felt understood. It was more than that she started to care about him more than she cared about herself.

She wanted to spend the rest of her life with him. She wanted to argue with him, challenge him, learn from him and be intimate with him. She wanted that more than anything.

It occurred to her not long after she had learned for the first time what there bond really meant that she did in fact love him. She didn't know exactly the moment that she had begun to love him. She only knew that she now did and she always would.

She had to tell him. It was well into the night at that point and she wasn't sure if he would still be up or not, but she found herself filling in the distance between herself in chamber without much further thought.

She didn't knock, worried that he had either gone to sleep or would ignore her after his lack of response earlier that day. She was surprised to find him sitting on the sofa with the same book that they had been looking at earlier. He looked up at her and furrowed his eyebrows, clearly confused to see her.

"Hermione, are you alright?" He said, the sound of his deep smooth voice sending delicious shivers down her spine.

"I've made my choice." She replied.

"What choice?" He asked.

"You said you wouldn't take my choice away from me about being permanently bound to you, implying that I had a choice to make and so I've made it." She said.

"Hermione you don't have to…"

"I love you." She said, cutting him off.

He froze and became overwhelmed with her words.

"You what?" he sighed, standing up to step closer to her.

"I love you." She repeated. "I want this. I want you. I would be proud to be your wife."

Severus looked her in the eye for a few moments as if weighing the sincerity of her words. He breathed out his nose and without any sign in his features giving his next move away he once again closed the distance between them.

Hermione put her head up high as he advanced her. She felt a little afraid of him. Not because she thought she was in any danger. Hermione was certain that being with him was the only good thing to come out of this war. No, she was afraid because Severus Snape would not be anything like Ronald Weasley.

With gentle, but stern hands he gripped the side of her arms. She wondered if he was going to passionately bring her into him, but he did not. Severus was a patient man and he wanted to prolong this moment for as long as he could. Finally, he closed in the gap between their faces, merely caressing her arms and shoulders with his fingers as he did so. He bent down so his eyes were at her level.

"You are so beautiful." He said softly. His eyes softened then. His face relaxed and Hermione was sure for the first time ever she was seeing him without his guard up. He was showing her that he was sincere in this too.

Hermione was not as patient as Severus. She pushed her lips flush against his and then feeling his soft response she then wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her whole body onto his.

He groaned slightly and his manhood began to straighten in response. He liked the feeling of himself pressed against her hipbone, even if he was still constrained in his trousers.

Hermione stood on her tiptoes, moving his member from her hip to her thighs. She rubbed herself into him with a small grind and she bit back the most delicious noise Severus had ever heard.

This woman really would be the death of him.

Severus had not been with too many women over the years, which is why he often preferred to go slow when it was with the right person. The right person had never come a long before. His previous partners had been fellow female death eaters and in order to even get through the semantics of it he found himself going much harder and aggressive than preferable.

He didn't want to be like that with Hermione.

Merlin's Beard, she was making that nearly impossible though. His primal instincts were beginning to set in every time she moaned.

His eyes rolled slightly back into his head with an audible groan. His hands reached under her thighs and he picked her up and pushed her frantically towards the door. When he had her back pressed against it he gripped her thighs and her bottom, but harder now, and began to kiss her passionately. She returned his passion and their tongues began to dance seductively with each other. She bit his bottom lip and his hips buckled up into her. She smiled mischievously realizing what her trick had done and bit the lip again causing the same response.

"Hermione…" Severus began.

"Mmm…Severus." Hermione said moving back to kiss him unaware of his sudden reluctance. When he didn't kiss her back she frowned. "Is something wrong?"

"Hermione," he started. He sighed. He set her back down on the ground. "This is going to permanently bond us in marriage for the rest of our lives."

"I know Severus, we discussed this." Hermione said slowly. "I want to do this." She paused and then looked at him with wide, concerned eyes. "Do you not want be bounded to me?"

Severus let out a laugh of disbelief. This woman knew so much, still had no clue of the hold she now had on him.

"Of course I do." Severus said. "But it is exactly the reason why I want to be your husband that I do not want our first time to be midair against my office door…you are too important to me." He finished.

Hermione blinked at him. He hadn't said he loved her, but he didn't need to say it. She had never heard such a declaration from Severus and she certainly never thought it would be directed towards her. How could she deny him?

She smiled softly and stepped back towards him. She grabbed his hand, pulled it up to her face and kissed his knuckles one by one.

"Well then," she said softly, kissing the last finger. "I think I remember where the bed is."

She pulled him behind her in a slow walk. When they were at the foot of the bed she brushed her feet against his and looked up at him. She tried her best to show the depth of what she was feeling through her eyes and she waited for him to make the first move.

Finally holding contact with her, he began to unbutton her blouse slowly. One button after button until the shirt hung wide open revealing her plain white bra. He didn't even look down at her breasts. There would be time to marvel over them later. This wasn't about physical pleasure. This was about the expression of devotion he towards her. He kept her gaze as he peeled the shirt back from her shoulders and when it fell to the floor at her feet. He kissed her forehead, her nose, both of her cheeks and then her lips quick, soft. He moved down to her shoulders, he kissed both tenderly. He ran his hands over them accustoming himself with the warmth of her skin. He ran his hands down her naked waist and then rested them on her hips. Finally when he had fully felt like he had mastered her skin the way a composer masters the score of a perfect song he finally took a bit of his forbidden fruit and moved to the top mounds of her breasts.

Hermione was a bit self-conscious of her breasts. They weren't exactly huge. She was a C cup. She had hoped when she was in fifth year that might get bigger, but they weren't in the cards for her. She held her breath when he kissed the top of the left mound, sending a welcomed shiver down her spine to her toes.

"Mmmm, you are perfect." He moaned. His right hand moved from her hip and ever so slowly he raised it up to the right breast that wasn't currently being explored with his mouth and he rubbed his finger in a gentle line across the top line of her bra. He sighed deeply when he moved the pad of his thumb under the wire of her bra and the swell of her beautiful soft breast and the nub of her nipple. His member grew hard again instantly at the touch. He envisioned himself flicking that nub with his tongue and then perhaps seeing how much of her breast he could fit in his mouth.

Hermione took a small step away from him, holding his gaze so he would not think she had changed her mind. She studied his face as she slowly unclasped the back of her bra and then even slower, she teasingly pushed down each strap until the garment also fell to the floor.

Hermione basked in the look of awe mixed with hunger on Severus's face. She didn't need to look at his ever-growing erection to know how badly he wanted her. Severus Snape was a well-guarded man, but when it came to the art of making love he was an open book.

Hermione had never felt anything quite like this before. She had been aroused before, sure, but it wasn't just desire she was feeling in that moment. Her heart felt like it was going to swell out of her chest. All she wanted was to wrap herself in him until their limbs could no longer be set apart and there sighs would pass back and forth like a silent "I love you."

Hermione sauntered over to him and smiled as she began to work on peeling off all of the buttons that was hiding him from her.

"You know, I have fantasized about undoing all of these buttons. I suppose I ought to thank you for allowing me to live this out." She teased.

He laughed. Her hand paused over the next button and she looked at him.

"What?" He said, raising an eyebrow.

"I've never heard you laugh before." She said, smiling.

"Well consider it a gift for your ears only." He smirked. "Now go on, back to the buttons." He demanded mockingly.

She winked at him and began to unbutton the rest, painfully, slowly, feeling like teasing a little bit more. He raised his eyebrow at her.

"You're making me think I should wear less buttons from now if it's going to take this long." He remarked, frowning.

"But than it wouldn't be as enjoyable for me to undress you." Hermione replied pointedly. "There, finally done." When she had unbuttoned him she once again noticed the loose white shirt still keeping her from him.

"You sir are still wearing far too much clothing." She giggled and began to pull up his shirt. He grabbed her hand, stopping her.

"Hermione don't. I don't have the body like other men you may seen. Working for Voldemort has taken on more than just figurative scars." He frowned and looked away from her.

Hermione grabbed his face and held his gaze.

"Don't hide from me Severus. I can't possibly imagine not wanting every part of you."

Very slowly, she moved her hands against his torso again and carefully pulled his shirt over his head. She had remembered seeing a scar along his neck that moved into his collar the first time she stood next to him, but she had no idea how extensive it was. The scar moved down his neck, twisted over his shoulder and moved down the side of his stomach in a long jagged line. He also had a scar on the left side of his abdomen that stretched all the way up to his nipple. There was another scar that began at his hipped and moved down somewhere into his trousers.

It broke her heart to see the abuse that had scarred him. She finally understood why he was cold, why he was closed off to most. Hermione tenderly ran a finger down the scar on his stomach and then flinched her hand back.

"Does that hurt?" she asked softly. He closed his eyes.

"No, it feels nice." He said. "I've never shown anyone my scars before."

Hermione leaned back into him and kissed him again on the lips. He wrapped his arms around her back and pulled her naked chest flush against his own. They shifted their feet a little awkwardly so they had an easier access of moving to the bed. When they finally had danced there way to it Severus pushed Hermione gently on to his bed. She fell on her back and he reached under her waist with one arm and held her shoulders with the other and pushed her back to the head of the bed. Her hair landed in luscious curls framing her face.

Severus removed his trousers and then crawled onto the bed. He stopped at her feet. He removed her socks and kissed her ankle before moving to the next one. He then continued to move up the bed until he reached the buckle of her jeans. With a quick flick he undid them and slowly began to pull them down her legs.

He laid on his side next to her. She also turned over onto her side, mimicking him. They took in a minute to really take in each others' bodies before inching closer together. Severus ran his hand over the curves of her nearly naked body. He stopped at her panty line and curiously ran a finger under the elastic band. Hermione leaned in to kiss and encouraged his exploration by putting her hand on his to help him pull the cloth down, around her ankles and then she threw them off the bed.

Severus let in a quick intake of breath when he finally saw all of her. Never in his life had he been with something so perfect. He blushed when his eyes began to get teary, but Hermione caressed his cheek.

"I love you Severus." She whispered. Severus did let a tear fall at that. There really was only so much any man could take.

"I felt such pain before you came into my life Hermione." He whispered back. "I do love you."

Hermione's heart beamed. He loved her.

She could only think of one appropriate way at this point for them to express that love.

She moved for his boxers and then when they were fully naked the pressed there bodies flush against each others. They explored the other for a moment, taking their time in their endeavor before finally Severus gently pushed Hermione on her back and he moved himself over her.

"Are you wet enough?" He asked, not wanting to hurt her with the size of him.

She sighed, "Yes." She moved his hand in between her thighs so he could feel the juices for himself. He groaned.

She let go of his fingers and let her fingers wrap around his hard pulsing manhood. He let a sharp intake of breath escape and jerked forward in her hand. She felt amazing to him. Her hands were so soft. He could hardly imagine what actually being inside of her would feel like. She pushed his member to her opening and then he was inside of her.

She was warm. She was amazing. Her walls clenched around his length causing another bulk of his hips to move towards her. She wrapped her legs around his waist so he could have easier access. He laced his fingers in her hand and pinned it back. He pressed his forehead against hers and then he began to move inside her.

Severus paid close attention to her facial expressions as he figured out his rhythm before finding her sweet spot. When he finally found it her mouth fell open, her fingernails dug into his shoulders and she cried out. He was very careful to stay in that spot and began to move at the same speed, hitting it each time. Hermione began to writhe underneath him. She was finding it difficult to keep her eyes locked on him. She couldn't even think. She could only feel. And, by Merlin's Beard it felt absolutely amazing. What had she been thinking when she didn't see the appeal of sex? She would not eat or sleep ever again. She just wanted to do this with Severus. All of the time. Forever.

As the muscles inside her began to tighten Severus began to increase his speed. He buried his head in her shoulder, knowing the look of growing ecstasy would cause him to explode prematurely. Her walls clamped around him hard. Her back arched, her toes curled and she felt a wet release pour out of her like a wave crashing down. While riding her wave, she could feel Severus grip her hips harder and with three more thrusts his brow furrowed, his eyes rolled back and his mouth fell open. He quivered for a moment and then his muscles relaxed and he fell on top of her.

He laid there for a moment as they caught there breaths and then he slowly pulled his now flaccid manhood from her. He rolled onto his back and pulled Hermione into him. She comfortably laid on his chest. He kissed her forehead.

"Well Mrs. Snape, I do have to admit. You are incredible."

She smiled to herself. The feeling was mutual. As she drifted to sleep she thought about the name he had called her for the first time. She felt her heart began to swell again. She was Mrs. Snape and now she always would be.


End file.
